Establishing Peace
by Hiccup The Demigod
Summary: The dragons have finally decided that humans were ready for them once more. Who better to help keep the peace? Why Hiccup and the gang of course. Only problem? They've been dead for close to a thousand years. Modern AU, mentions of reincarnation. Ties to my Seizure Procedure series. Some strong language may be used. ON HIATUS FOR A BIT. PROMISE TO RETURN.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This ties into the series I have been writing. If you haven't read it yet, go and read it now. I'll wait.

Finished reading it yet? Good. Now as the summary stated, this is a Modern AU with reincarnation. Instead of Berk, it will take place in my hometown. I might take us to Berk later, not sure yet. The gang is around 20yo. I will delve a bit into how Hiccup lost his leg and why he has seizures. Now meet the new/old cast

Harry Carp/Hiccup Haddock

Astrid Hoffman/Astrid Hofferson

Frank Rogers/Fishleg Ingerman

Simon Beckstrom/ Snotlout Jorgenson

Tommy and Rhea Thorns/Tuffnut and Ruffnut Thorston

Valerie Carp/ Valka Haddock

John Strange/Jorn

* * *

Harry sat in the waiting room, his right leg bouncing up and down. He was nervous. He knew virtually nothing about this new doctor, other than the fact that he came from Canada and was a specialist with seizures.

The young man looked around the room and no one else seemed as nervous as him. Suddenly he felt a hand on his knee, stopping his bouncing his leg. "It's going to be okay, babe. This isn't the first time you've dealt with a new doctor. And it won't be the last. So just relax."

Harry looked over at his fiancée and gave her a small smile. "I know Astrid. Just a tad nervous, and maybe a bit tired. We've been here awhile."

Just then the next to the receptionist desk opened and a nurse stepped out carrying a chart. "Harry Carp."

Harry stood and gave his fiancée a quick kiss and walked toward the door. Anyone who bothered to pull their eyes away from their phones noticed that the young man had a slight limp. Something was wrong with his left leg.

* * *

Harry sat on the paper covered cot, waiting for the doctor to come in. His assistant, Nurse Gothard, a short elderly woman, had already taken his vitals and asked the standard questions. Aside from the questions, she didn't say much else. Not one for conversation, Harry figured.

The young man didn't have to wait long for the doctor to come in.

"Mr. Harry Carp?" the doctor asked.

"Yes sir," Harry confirmed.

"Great," the doctor sat down on the swivel stool. "I'm Dr. John Strange. You can call John if you want. No need to be formal. What can I call you?"

"Most people just call me Harry," Harry shrugged.

John nodded and read Harry's chart. "It says here your first seizure happened when you were fifteen?"

"Yes sir," Harry confirmed.

"And you've been taking Diazepam since then?" John asked.

"Yes sir," Harry nodded. "My original doctor thought it would be best suited due to my age."

John put the chart down. "Tell me about yourself. How did seizures start?"

"I was in a really bad car accident with my dad. He was teaching me how to drive when we got t-boned by a drunk driver," Harry explained. "I was severely hurt, but Dad didn't make it. He died on impact."

"How badly were you hurt?" John wondered.

Harry rolled his eyes. "It should be in my chart."

"I know, but I want to hear it from you," John said.

Harry bent over and started rolling up his left pant leg. In place of a flesh and blood leg, was a metal one that rested just below his knee. "The car caught on fire. I managed to get out before it engulfed the rest of me. Doctors tried to save my leg, but there wasn't enough left to save. The blood loss and head trauma were the two main causes of my seizures. I had my first seizure a few days after the accident."

"Where was your mom during all this?" John asked.

"Overseas in Afghanistan. She's in the Air Force," Harry answered. "She was on a mission and couldn't be reached right away. It took about a month for her to get the news and a week for her to get home. Why does it matter?"

"You had no one for over a month," John noted.

"My friends kept me company," Harry corrected. "Again, why does it matter?"

John shook his head. "It doesn't really matter. I'm just trying to get to know you better."

"So you're a therapist as well as a seizure specialist?" Harry remarked sarcastically. "Do you want to talk about how when I was three my pet bunny died?"

John stood up. "Another time." He took out a small pen-sized flashlight. "Follow the light. When was your last seizure?"

Harry followed the light. "Two weeks ago. Mother's Day. I was at home, getting ready to leave to pick my mom up. Astrid, my fiancée was there when it happened. She got me on my side and called 911. It lasted for 30 seconds. I was unconscious for about five minutes after. Woke up to being loaded onto a stretcher. Spent the night in the hospital for evaluation."

"Do you usually lose consciousness?" John asked, putting away the flashlight.

"I'd say around 85% of the time," Harry answered.

Before John could ask his next question, the whole Earth shook. Harry fell off the cot on to the floor. John gripped the edges of the small counter, unable to reach his patient without falling himself. The Earth continued to violently shake for another minute before it became still once more.

As it stilled what sounded like unearthly roars could be heard outside. John resisted the urge to run outside and moved to help Harry, who had blood pooling out a head wound.

* * *

A/N: So what do you guys think so far? I know it's short, my first chapters usually are. The next chapter will be a bit longer. Modern AU's really aren't my forte. This my second time writing one. My first on is hidden away on a thumb drive, never to see the eyes of the public.

Oh, before I forget, Living Will and Deadly Seas have been updated. I went back and added a bit more to a few of the chapters. Check it out when you've got the time.

As always, thanks for reading. Don't forget to review and favorites.

Special thanks to DraconicBeing2.0 for staying on as my beta reader.


	2. Chapter 2

John picked the young man up off the floor with the same ease as a child picking up a kitten, and laid him on the cot. He quickly grabbed bandages, gauze, rubbing alcohol and a washcloth from the cupboard above the counter and turned back to the unconscious man. He applied pressure to the wound and began to clean the excess blood off.

John yelled for help, only to get no response. Everyone must have left to go see what was going on outside. He was on his own. He continued to apply pressure until the bleeding slowed enough for him to step away. "Okay, kid. You have to hang in there for a bit, while I step away to grab a suture kit."

John shook his head. Where did that come from? Why did he call Harry, kid? Answers would have to wait. He stopped applying pressure and went back to the cupboard. He grabbed one of the emergency suture kits, which held butterfly strips, scissors, a needle, staples, and thread. He turned back to Harry and pulled the gauze away from the head wound to examine it.

It wasn't deep enough for stitches, so the Canadian doctor chose to use to butterfly strips to close it. He expertly applied the strips, then put fresh gauze over the now-closed wound and wrapped the small roll of bandages around Harry's head to hold it in place.

Throughout the whole ordeal, Harry had not stirred in the slightest. Once John was satisfied that Harry would be okay on his own for a few minutes, he left to go outside to see what was going on.

* * *

John stepped out of his office and joined the crowd in looking up. The sky was full of mythical creatures. "Dragons." As the word passed his lips, a young blonde walked up to him.

"Where's Harry?" her voice was that of someone who gave commands and got her way no matter what. She took shit from no one.

John pulled his eyes away from the sky. He looked into this woman's electric blue eyes and felt as if he'd known her for most of his life. He knew who she was. "Don't worry, Astrid. He'll be fine." He explained how as soon as the earthquake started, Harry fell, hitting his head.

"Take me to him," Astrid demanded. "Now."

"Of course," John agreed. As the two turned to head back inside three dragons landed in front of them. The one in the middle was blacker than the night sky with the sleekness of a panther. The one to the left was orange, who sat on its hind legs, his tail whipping back and forth. The one to the right was mostly blue with a whitish underbelly, it stood on it two legs, wing tucked to the sides.

John stepped in front of Astrid as if to protect her. He didn't know what these dragons would do. He feared the worst. The black one stepped forward, looking at the two very closely. The dragon's eyes sparkled with curiosity.

The doctor felt as if he should know these dragons. He felt a faint memory tugging in the back of his, fighting to surface. It was a memory from a different time. Before the memory could fully surface, a shout came from behind the three dragons. "Toothless, stop!"

The black dragon's head turned to locate the owner of the voice. John looked past the dragons and saw Harry standing just a few feet from the small office building. The dragon turned and rushed toward Harry. Astrid tried to run to him, but John stopped her.

"Let me go!" Astrid shouted. "He needs help."

John didn't know why, but he knew that wasn't true. "No, he doesn't. He knows what he's doing."

"What makes you say that?" Astrid demanded, struggling against John's hold.

"I just do. He's going to be okay," John assured. "You need to calm down and watch. The kid will be alright."

Astrid stopped struggling and watched.

* * *

Harry woke up on the cot, his head throbbing. Not from the wound though, but from memories. So many memories. All of them jumbled together. He couldn't make sense of them. All he could make out was a black dragon named Toothless. He got up and stumbled his way out of the building.

He got the main door, just in time to see the black dragon from his jumbled memories approaching his new doctor and Astrid. "Toothless, stop!"

The dragon turned his head, looked at him for a few seconds before running toward him. Harry braced for impact only to have the dragon stop inches from him. The two stood staring each other down. Harry instinctively reached his hand out and turned himself away. The black beast sniffed the young man's hand before placing his snout into it.

As the two made physical contact all of Harry's jumbled memories clicked into place. He remembered living on island call Berk. He was Viking named Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third. His tribe was at war with the dragons until he learned that they could live peacefully. He remembered everything.

Harry looked at the dragon and smiled. "Toothless. Hey, bud. It's been a long time."

Toothless smiled his gummy smile before pouncing on to Hiccup and licking him until they both fell.

"Harry!" Astrid screamed as she broke free from John's hold. She ran toward her fiancé. John ran after her.

When Astrid reached Harry and Toothless, she tried to push the black beast away. "Get off of him, you monster!"

Toothless stopped bathing his best friend in slobber, long enough to look at Astrid and sniff her. Harry took the opportunity to get out from under Toothless and sit up. "Astrid, honey, I'm fine. He's an old, very old friend."

Astrid stood very still as Toothless continued to smell her. "Are you insane? This thing is a dragon. A real-life dragon. He could probably eat us whole."

Harry shrugged. "Probably, but he won't. Isn't that right, Toothless?"

Toothless looked at Harry and let out a small roar as if to confirm that he wasn't going to eat anyone. John walked over to Harry and helping him stand up.

"How are you feeling, kid?" John asked, placing a firm hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Bit dizzy, and very tired," Harry answered before promptly passing out. John was quick to catch him.

"We need to get him to a hospital," John stated. "I can only do so much here."

Toothless let out a roar and spread his wings.

"What does he want?" Astrid muttered to no one in particular.

"He wants us to ride him," John guessed. "He can get us to the hospital much faster".

Astrid backed away, shaking her head. "Not in a million years. You can ride him. And how do you know all this shit?"

John lifted Harry up and climbed on to Toothless's back. "I've done it before. Now, bond with the blue dragon. Once you get close enough, you'll know what to do. Trust me."

John still wasn't sure how he knew all this. All he knew was that this wasn't new to him and that the dragons were peaceful.

"What about the orange one?" Astrid wondered.

"He'll follow the blue one," John answered. Before Astrid could ask any more questions, Toothless took to the sky and flew in the direction of the nearest hospital.

* * *

A/N: Do I still have your attention? Are you still enjoying the story? I know it's no the pace you're used to, but don't worry things will start to pick up hopefully around chapter five or six. I haven't written them yet, but that's when I plan to start really focus on the gang and the problems they will face. Character arcs and what not

As always thanks for reading. Don't forget to favorite, review and share.

Special thanks to DraconicBeing2.0 for being an amazing beta reader.


	3. Chapter 3

While in the air, John began remembering bits pieces of his former life. He knew the orange dragon's name was Garff and that they were best friends. He knew the young man in his arms was like a son to him and a hero.

John called the hospital and told them to be ready for a patient with a head injury and where to meet them. As the trio flew closer to the hospital, John told Toothless on the helicopter pad. Toothless obliged and let out a roar as he went in for the landing.

A small team was standing by with a stretcher, ready to accept their patient. They backed away in surprise when a dragon landed in front of them. None dared to get close. John didn't seem bothered by this. He just casually got off of Toothless and carried Harry over to them.

"His name is Harry Carp, 20 years old, suffers from seizures," John listed off. "He fell during the earthquake and hit his head. I stopped to the bleeding and bandaged him up. I fear something else might be wrong. He'll need a CT scan, X-Rays, the whole nine yards."

The small teamed quickly wheeled Harry into the hospital to begin treating him. John motioned for Toothless to stay and ran after them.

* * *

Astrid cautiously walked over to the blue dragon, who just stared at her, letting out small squawks. As she got closer, Astrid felt as if she knew this dragon on a personal level. The two of them were great friends. She started to have memories of flying through the sky, fighting bad guys.

Once the young blonde was inches from the dragon, she held out her hand and closed her eyes. The dragon sniffed her hand for a second before placing her snout in the woman's palm. Astrid looked at the dragon as all the memories came flooding back. "Stormfly. Hey, girl," Astrid beamed.

Stormfly stepped away, ruffling her wings and squawking loudly. The orange dragon came over and looked at the two curiously. Astrid looked at the orange one. "Hey, Garff. Don't worry, we'll get you to Jorn. Well, he goes by John now. But first, we have to go to help the others. Their dragons have probably already found them and they don't know what to do. Frank might, but he's a scaredy cat."

Astrid mounted Stormfly with ease and took to the air, Garff following behind them.

* * *

John sat in a waiting room, watching the news while waiting for information on Harry. The earthquake was felt all over the world as the dragons burst through from beneath the oceans and volcanoes. No action from any military has been taken yet since the dragons are not attacking. Thousands of people have been seen "bonding" with the dragons before climbing on to them and flying through the air.

The various militaries are urging people to stay indoors and to not engage the dragons. John laughed at this. The people can't help it. They are feeling a connection with the dragons. Instinct is taking over. Plain and simple.

John figured there were probably enough dragons for every single person to have one. He didn't put too much thought into it since Harry was more important. He had offered his services, but since he was from a different country, he couldn't work in the hospital, unless he went through the proper channels. Those channels were completely different from getting his own doctor's office.

He simply had to wait. He had gotten Harry's cellphone and other personal belongings before they carted him off to run tests. He used the phone to call the kid's mom and told her what had happened and what hospital they were at. She, unfortunately, couldn't be here since she was currently in DC. The doctor promised to keep her informed.

After a while, John decided to go get a cup of coffee. As he was getting up, a younger looking doctor walked in. "Harry Carp?"

"Yeah, I'm his doctor," John answered. "I originally treated his head wound."

"Does he have anyone else here?" the other doctor asked.

"Not yet. They'll be here as soon as they can," John replied. "Just tell me how he is and I'll tell them. His mom is in DC and very worried."

"Well, then," the doctor sighed. "He has a grade 3 concussion and a hairline fracture to the base of the skull where the head wound is. We put on clean bandaging as the ones you had put on him had been soaked through. He's lucky you got him here when you did."

"Is he awake?" John asked.

"He's in and out. If you want, I'll have a nurse show you to his room," the doctor offered. "I want to keep him here for a couple of nights to monitor him."

"That's fine, I'll wait here," John agreed. "Better safe than sorry."

"A nurse should be here in a few minutes," the doctor said. "Just hang tight."

* * *

Harry felt himself drifting between two worlds. One where he is in a hospital, being treated for a head injury. The other where he was Hiccup, going on adventures, flying a Night Fury named Toothless and discovering new places. He preferred the second world.

John stood in the doorway for a second and watched as the young man slept. They had him hooked up to a heart monitor and on IV fluids. His head was re-bandaged, just as the other doctor said he was. He walked in and sat down in a nearby chair, pulling out his own phone. He had saved Harry's mom's number to his own phone. He pressed her contact and called her.

One ring. Two rings. Three rings.

_"Hello,"_ A familiar voice answered.

"Hi, Mrs. Carp. It's John Strange. We talked earlier," John greeted.

_"Yes. I remember you, Dr. Strange,"_ Mrs. Carp replied. _"Please, call me Valerie. How is my son?"_

"He's doing fine, Valerie, all things considered," John answered. "He has a grade 3 concussion and a hairline fracture to go with the head wound. The hospital is going to keep him over few a couple days to monitor him."

_"Is he awake?"_ Valerie asked.

"Not right now. He probably will be soon, though," John replied. "They say he's been in and out. I can call you again when he does wake up though. If you want, that is?"

_"Don't worry about it. I'll be there soon. I got a last-minute last flight,"_Valerie explained. _"I should be there in no time at all. It's a really fast flight."_

John smirked. Valerie's dragon had found her and was bringing her to see her son. "Well, just remember we're at Bay Medical, second floor. Room 213."

_"See you soon,"_Valerie said and hung up.

* * *

Astrid helped her friends bond with their respective dragons. All of them had similar reactions as their minds were flooded with memories from the past selves. After everyone was reunited, the gang headed for the hospital to check on Harry.

As they flew through the air, Simon posed an interesting question. "What do we call each other now? Am I Simon, or Snotlout?"

"You're Simon," Astrid answered. "Snotlout died a thousand years ago, give or take. So did the rest of those guys."

"Are we going to start acting like them?" Tommy asked.

"Well we kind of already do if you think about it," Frank stated, thoughtfully. "Look at us; we're all still together. That in itself is a true testament to how strong our friendship is. Aside from a few physical differences, we're still the same. Astrid is a strong, level headed, combat trained woman. Simon, you're still the buff guy, who thinks he's a ladies man."

"Hey!" Simon protested.

Frank ignored him and continued. "Tommy and Rhea, well, let's just say your actions speak for themselves. And Harry is a genius when it comes to building new gadgets. He also has the same problems as his past self, missing a leg and suffering from seizures."

The gang flew in silence the rest of the way to the hospital, all of them thinking about their newfound memories.

* * *

A/N: Thank you so much for your support. I'm glad so many people are enjoying my story. Don't worry the action and trauma will pick up. We're going to start delving into some of the characters are bit more. And I will eventually explain the dragons.

As always thanks for reading. Don't forget to favorite and review

Special thanks to Draconicbeing2.0 for being an amazing beta reader and friend.


	4. Chapter 4

Two days later:

Astrid had just finished signing Harry's release papers and was pushing him down the hall in a wheelchair, toward the elevators.

"I can walk," Harry protested, not being overly fond of having to use a wheelchair.

"Hospital rules, babe. You have to leave in a wheelchair. Plus, you are still having dizzy spells. Walking is a big no-no for you right now," Astrid pointed out as they reached the elevator and she pushed the down button.

Harry crossed his arms and pouted for second before changing topics. "Where's Toothless at?"

"He's at home with Stormfly, safe and sound," Astrid answered. "No, you can't fly him. The president doesn't want anyone flying the dragons until he can locate an expert and find out what is going on."

"I'm an expert," Harry pointed out. "Well Hiccup was, but I'm him, so yeah. I am an expert. Maybe Mom can talk to him when she goes back to DC."

"She's already on it," Astrid assured, pushing Harry into the now open elevator. "It might take some convincing though. He's not the wisest man to ever take office."

The two rode the elevator down in silence. When they reached the ground floor, John was sitting in a nearby chair waiting for them.

John stood up when he saw the young couple exit the elevator. "All squared away?"

"Yeah," Astrid answered. "Though we need to make a follow-up appointment with our GP for next week."

Harry inwardly groaned. "No, we don't. Dr. Clark _recommended_ it."

"I'll call him on my way to work," Astrid continued, ignoring her cranky fiancé. "Speaking of which, I got to get going. Don't want to be late. You got it from here, John?"

"Yeah, I got him," John nodded, taking the wheelchair handles from Astrid.

Astrid walked in front of Harry and gave him a quick kiss. "You listen to John. He's going to keep an eye on you. And don't try anything stupid, or I'm bringing you right back here. Understand, babe?"

"I understand, mi' lady," Harry said with a smirk. "See you when you get home."

Astrid returned the smile, before jogging out the door to her car that was just outside.

"Ready to go home, kid?" John asked.

"Yeah. I miss my bed and real food," Harry remarked.

Jorn began to push Harry out the door to his car that had been parked behind Astrid's. Once they got within a couple of feet from the car, John locked the back wheels, and opened the passenger door before helping Harry stand up. Harry swayed for a second trying to get his balance.

John looked at Harry with concern. "You okay, kid?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. Just a bit dizzy."

"Okay," John acknowledged, refusing to let go of Harry. "When you feel like it, try small, slow steps forward. We'll move at your pace."

It took some time, but Harry was eventually in the car. John buckled him in before taking the wheelchair back into the hospital.

* * *

The drive home was silent. Harry just looked out the window at all the dragons in the sky and perched on buildings. It was a sight to behold. Harry recalled a story his grandfather told him about how during the time Vikings roamed the seas, dragons were everywhere. Very few places got along with the beast. One place, in particular, was an island called Berk. The Vikings spent 300 hundred years fighting the mighty fire-breathers until one boy changed all that. His name was lost to time. He tamed the mightiest of dragons. A Night Fury, The Offspring of Lightning and Death itself. He and the beast were the best of friends. Some years after the boy and the dragon ended the war, the dragons disappeared. It had become clear that not all of mankind was ready to accept that dragons were creatures of peace. So the dragons disappeared beneath the surface of the world to wait.

Harry shrugged the story off at the time, knowing his grandfather liked to tell tall tales about mythical creatures. Only in the past few days had he come to realize that his grandfather was right. He wondered if his grandfather knew that he was the reincarnation of that boy.

Before Harry knew it, John was pulling into his driveway. The young man looked at his home. It looked like a barn or a boathouse, depending on how you looked at it. In reality, it was two separate apartments. One upstairs and one downstairs. He and Astrid lived in the bottom one, which was two bedrooms and one bath. Space was limited, but, hey, the rent was cheap and it was cozy. It was going to get a lot more cramped with two dragons moving in. He just hoped they hadn't eaten the cats.

John got out and walked around to Harry's side to help him out. As soon as Harry was out of the car, a lady started screaming out of the top window. "It's about damn time you got home. Whatever it is you have down there has been making noise all fucking day. Get whatever it is you have in there under control, or I'm calling the cops. It's bad enough you have ambulances showing up at odd hours every other day, but now you've added out of control animals to the mix."

Harry tiredly looked up at the screaming woman. "Screw off, Amy. If you don't like it, move out."

"That's it," Amy screeched. "I'm coming down there and putting an end to this nonsense. Don't be surprised if you're in jail by the end of the day."

Harry looked over at John, who seemed flabbergasted at the howling monkey leaning out the top window. "Just ignore her and let's get inside."

Once inside, John carefully helped Harry sit down before Toothless had a chance to pounce. The young man looked around and couldn't find any immediate damage done to the house. He could also see that cats were in fact still alive and hiding behind the TV stand.

Toothless started to lick his Rider, but John gently pushed him away. "Later, Toothless. Harry isn't well right now. He needs to rest."

Toothless backed away, looking at Harry with concerned and made a low crooning noise, as if to say, he understood. A second later there was a pounding on the door.

"That would be Amy," Harry groaned.

"Stay there," John gently ordered. "I'll take care of her."

John opened the door just enough to get through and not show Amy the inside of the apartment. "Ma'am, please go back upstairs. Harry is unwell right now. He is in no shape to deal with you."

"You sound just like that little blonde slut that lives with him," Amy insulted. "Who are you anyway? Her dad?"

"No, I'm a close family friend," John replied. "Please, go back upstairs."

"Sure, you're a family 'friend'," Amy remarked. "Even if you were, you would know he was faking it to get that sweet, sweet welfare check. I should report him for welfare fraud, but I guess I'm just too nice a person. You know what? I am going to report him, right now. I'm tired of putting up with bullshit excuses and constant abuse of 911."

John watched Amy pull out her phone and call, who he assumed, was the cops. He just went back inside and let her call.

"I'm not on welfare," Harry stated, making it clear he heard everything. "I work from home. She knows this."

"I know," John muttered. "If the cops do show up though, our only problems are Toothless and Stormfly."

Harry shrugged. "Don't worry about it. People have been letting dragons into their homes since they came back. Cops aren't going to worry about it."

John just nodded and sat down in a recliner to wait. Toothless rested his head on Harry's lap and purred. Harry scratched the top of his dragon's head.

Twenty minutes later, the two men heard a car pull up and two doors open and close. John stood up and motioned for Harry to stay seated. Harry didn't object. A minute passed before there was a knock on the door.

John opened it up. "Can I help you, officer?"

"Yes. Your upstairs neighbor is reporting noise disturbance and welfare fraud," the officer stated. "May I come in?"

"Sure," John obliged as he opened the door for the cop. "However, you should know. I don't live here. I'm helping out the gentleman does."

The police officer stepped inside and almost jumped out his shoes at the sight of two fairly big dragons lounging about.

"Don't worry about the dragons," John said. "They're tame."

The officer looked at the doctor skeptically. "Yeah, tame. We'll go with that, for now." he turned and looked at the younger, who was sitting on the couch, with a rather large bandage just above his left eye. "I take it you're the one Miss. James is complaining about."

"That would be me," Harry answered. "She's full of shit by the way. I'm not on welfare. I just had a handicap placard for the car I share with my fiancée."

"Care to tell me why you would name a placard?" the officer asked.

"Because I'm an amputee and have seizures," Harry remarked in an exasperated tone.

The officer looked at Harry. "I count four limbs."

Harry bent forward to roll up his left pant leg, only to be hit with a wave of nausea and dizziness. "John, I think I'm gonna h-" He was unable to finish his sentence as vomit came spewing from his mouth.

John rushed over to him and held him as he hurled chunks all over the floor and himself. Once he was finished, John helped him up. "Give us just one second."

The officer just nodded and allowed John to help Harry to the bathroom and get cleaned up. After a few minutes, John came back alone. "Sorry about that. The kid has a grade 3 concussion. He's not doing too hot. Can we wrap this up as quickly as we can? I would really like for him to get some rest."

"Just explain how he's an amputee. I saw four limbs," the officer pointed out.

"Most the lower half of his left leg is gone," John answered. "He lost it a car crash five years ago. He wears a metal prosthetic designed to function the same way a regular leg would. That's what he was going to show when he started to vomit. Does that answer your question?"

The officer nodded and pulled a business card out of his pocket. "Yeah. Just have him call me, to follow up sometime tomorrow. I still have a couple of questions, but I would like for him to answer them. And try to keep the noise down."

John took the card. "Sure thing. Have a good day, officer."

The policeman nodded again walked back outside, and headed over to his partner and Amy, who started screaming when he came out alone. John didn't pay any attention to it, he just turned and headed back to the bathroom where Harry was still emptying his stomach contents.

* * *

Astrid smiled as the last customer left her store. She walked out from behind the counter to go and pull the gate down for the evening. As she was closing it, she spotted Frank and Simon walking by, backpacks slung over their shoulders. It looked they had just finished their shifts at the stores they work at in the same mall. Simon worked at Aeropastle. And Frank worked in the jewelry department at JC Pennys. Rhea and Tommy worked at FYE and were probably still dealing with several customers.

"Hey guys," Astrid called out, waving at them.

The two men spotted her and walked over, waving back.

"Finally finishing up?" Frank asked.

"Yeah, I just got to do inventory, restock, and count the safe before I can leave," Astrid answered.

"Wow," Simon stated sarcastically. "It must be so hard running your own store."

"Like you would know," Astrid scoffed. "You're just a part-timer in a small store. You have no idea what it takes to keep a store running."

"Shut up, Astrid," Simon pouted.

Frank let out a chuckle. "You want us to wait for you? We can all go and grab a bite to eat at O'Charley's".

"Can't," Astrid denied. "Harry needs someone with him."

"Come with us," Simon insisted. "You can just order something to go, and hang with us until it's ready."

Astrid pondered this a minute. "Sure, why not? Let me just see if Harry wants anything. I'll meet you guys outside. Tommy and Rhea should be done by the time I am."

"We'll be in the food court," Frank promised.

Astrid walked under the partially closed gate screen to finish up her closing tasks. She took out her phone and called Harry, only to have John pick up.

"Hey Astrid," John answered.

"Hey, John. I was just calling to see if Harry wanted anything from O'Charley's," Astrid replied. "Is he okay?"

"Yeah, just sleeping," John said. "He threw up earlier, though. So if you do get him anything, soup and crackers would be good. Doubt he could handle anything else right now."

"I know just what soup to get him," Astrid stated. "Other than that, any problems?"

"Your upstairs neighbor is quite a piece of work," John replied.

"She called the cops?" Astrid guessed.

"How'd you know?" John wondered.

"She calls them on us for the smallest of things," Astrid explained. "When Harry had his latest seizure, she called them, complaining that he was faking and looking for drugs. Another time she called them because we were talking too loud. See where this going?"

"Yeah, nut case," John summed up.

"Anyways, I should be home in an hour or so," Astrid said.

"We'll be here," John promised.

Astrid hung up and went about her tasks. When she was done, she locked up the store and headed for the food court.

* * *

A/N: Amy is an exaggeration of my upstairs neighbor, who loves to complain about everything we do. Whereas we don't complain about despite the fact that she has three really loud dogs that bark all day long and blares really crappy music. We'll have her pounding on our door at 6am because one of us flushed the toilet. She hasn't called the cops on us yet or accused of committing any kind of fraud.

This story is going to start picking up the pace within the next few chapters. So just hang in there a little bit longer.

Anyways, I hope you are enjoying the story so far.

As always thanks for reading. Don't forget to favorite and review.

Special thanks to Draconicbeing2.0 for being an amazing beta reader.


	5. Chapter 5

_It had been a long week for Jorn. First Berk was attacked by Grimmel and his dragons. Then the Chief decided to relocate everyone, dragons included. Just three days after settling on New Berk, Grimmel showed up with an armada, an armada bigger than Dagur's. The battle was epic but heartbreaking. Watching Hiccup fall to his death with Grimmel fighting him on the way down, was not a sight anyone would soon forget._

_Jorn clutched little Stoick Jorn close to his chest and rushed to the front of the crowd with Garff in tow when the Light Fury dropped Hiccup onto the cliff. His leg was gone and he was bleeding through his broken armor. Jorn stopped in his tracks when Astrid helped her husband up. He pushed off of her and hopped toward Toothless._

_The tribe watched as their Chief and resident Night Fury said goodbye to each other. Everyone began to shed tears and they released their reptilian companions back into the wild. Jorn was the last to remove his saddle from Garff. He hugged the Deathsong, who nuzzled him back. "In Valhalla do we meet again," he murmured softly to his friend before letting go. Slowly the dragons took to the air and flew toward the Hidden World. Toothless, as the alpha, was the last to leave._

_Once the dragons disappeared beyond the horizon, Hiccup stood for a moment longer before he collapsed like a sack of potatoes. Jorn knew what was about to happen. He handed the Haddock baby over to Valka and leapt into action. As Hiccup began to convulse, Jorn turned him on to his side and held the chief as still as he could. Astrid stood over them, ready to help._

_Once Hiccup stopped convulsing, Jorn turned him on to his back, surprised to find Hiccup still conscious. "Kid, can you hear me?" he asked urgently._

_Hiccup just gave a small nod, but before Jorn could ask another question the young Chief's eyes rolled into the back of his skull and his head lolled to the side. The resident healer picked Hiccup up, like he weighed nothing, and rushed to the healer's tent._

* * *

John sat up in bed, his heart beating rapidly. He rubbed his eyes, only to discover he had been crying as he slept. He quickly scanned the bedroom for Garff and saw the dragon, sleeping peacefully in the corner.

"Garff," John called. "Time to get up."

Garff slowly opened his eyes, looked at his rider, and let out a huge yawn as he uncurled himself and stretched. John climbed out of bed and stretched as well. Together, they headed to the kitchen downstairs. John stopped in the living room long enough to turn on the TV and switched to CNN.

He walked into the kitchen and began to brew his coffee. As his cup of joe was brewing, he opened the fridge and pulled out the cod he had caught the night before and tossed it Garff, who happily ate it in one bite.

John laughed. "Did you even taste it? Or are your taste buds in your stomach?"

Garff bobbed his head up and down, showing off his signature smile, before turning and heading back into the living room. As soon as John's cup was done brewing, he followed his dragon.

John sat down on the couch just in time to see Harry on the screen. He recalled the talk the two of them had yesterday over the phone. Harry had been in DC talking to the president, trying to convince him that the dragons were harmless and only wanted peace. The young man mentioned that he was going to be heading to New York to be on New Day talking with world leaders about dragons, educating them and debating the pros and cons of dragons.

"Today we have a special young man with us today," Cassy started. "Who is here to talk to us about the dragons that showed up mysteriously a little over a month ago." She turned and looked at Harry. "Welcome to the show, Harry. How are you this morning?"

"I'm good," Harry replied.

"So what are you going to tell us about the dragons?" the news anchor asked.

"Well, Rosa," Harry began. He talked about a story his grandfather told him. He discussed Toothless and how he was trained, only to be cut off by the other news anchor.

"How do you know how he was trained?" Carlos asked. "You're talking as if you were there."

"Well, I was. In a sense," Harry shrugged. "When the earthquake hit, I fell and hit my head. When I came to, I had a bunch of memories in my head about a guy named, Hiccup. I've had flashbacks of this guy training dragons."

"Are you claiming to be his reincarnation?" Carlos asked.

"No sir," Harry shook his head. "I think when the dragons resurfaced something unexplainable happened to a lot of people. You work in news; surely you've seen people claiming to have memories of another person? That other person living during the time of dragons before they disappeared. I'm not the only one saying this. Close to a million people are saying this and discussing it with each other."

John watched as Carlos kept trying to twist Harry's words, but Harry was not having any of it. Just as things were starting to get heated, Harry froze in place.

"You have nothing else to say?" Carlos sneered, thinking he won.

"Oh no," John muttered under his breath. "He's having a seizure."

Viewers watched as Harry fell out of his chair and onto the floor, where he began to convulse. Carlos's smug look was wiped from his face as he looked on in horror. John found himself counting the seconds until Harry stopped seizing and watched as Cassy yelled for the onset medics.

As Harry stopped seizing, the show cut to commercial. John grabbed his home phone and dialed Astrid's number.

Astrid answered immediately _"Hello?"_

"Astrid, what's going on?" John almost yelled. "The whole world just watched him have a seizure."

_"The medics are loading him on to a stretcher now, and rushing him to the ambulance they have out back,"_ Astrid answered. _"He's unconscious but will come around in a few minutes. I'll update you when I get to the hospital."_

"I'll be there soon," John said before hanging up. He looked over at Garff. "Come on, we got to get to New York." Garff tilted his head and squawked, then headed for the door.

* * *

_They reached the island as the sun began to set. There to greet them was a Deathsong. Jorn quickly figured it was Garff. He jumped out of the boat and pulled it to shore after releasing the Seashockers, who seemed grateful for their freedom._

_He helped Hiccup out of the boat and sat him down on a nearby boulder. The kid's skin was warm to the touch. He had a fever._

_Garff trotted over to Hiccup and butted his head gently against him. Hiccup gave him a scratch under the chin. "Hey, big guy. I know it's been awhile. Astrid and Stormfly are going to be so happy when they see you."_

_Jorn went back to the boat and emptied out all of its supplies before lighting it on fire and pushing it back into the ocean. He listened as Hiccup talked to the dragon. The dragon seemed concerned for him, but the kid kept reassuring him he was alright._

_"We need to find shelter and rest for the night," Jorn stated._

_Hiccup shook his head. "We have to leave as soon as possible. Garff here will be more than happy to give us a lift. Isn't that right, big guy?"_

_Garff screeched out a tune as he bobbed his head up and down._

_Jorn looked uncertain. He had never flown before, but Hiccup was right. They couldn't stay the night. Hunters were looking for them._

_"Okay," Jorn said finally. "But first, let me change all your bandages."_

_Hiccup only nodded as he continued to give the Deathsong chin scratches. He seemed out of it. His mind was somewhere else, but it was also here. It was trying to deal with all that it had endured._

_It didn't take long for Jorn to clean and bandage Hiccup's wounds. He riffled through the supplies he had kept from the ship and found a tunic. It was bigger than Hiccup, but it was something to wear. Jorn helped Hiccup put it on._

_Once Jorn finished properly treating the kid, Hiccup motioned for Garff to lower his neck so they could climb on. Jorn gathered the supplies and stuffed it into his bag. What he couldn't fit would be tossed into the ocean._

_The healer helped Hiccup mount the dragon and climbed on behind him. He sat Hiccup up with on hand as he pulled a tonic out of his bag with the other._

_"Where are we heading?" Jorn asked._

_"Dragon's Edge," Hiccup said. "Garff knows the way. Hopefully, we'll run into the rest of the Riders on the way."_

_Hiccup used his good hand to pat Garff on the side, signaling for them to take off. Garff obliged and took to the air. Jorn's vision went black for a split second before everything came into focus. They were flying over the ocean. The island was miles behind them._

_Jorn looked at his patient. Hiccup's eyes were shut and his head hung forward. The kid was unconsciousness, probably for a long while. This was his real first chance to recover. He slipped the tonic back into his bag and held on to one of the dragon's horns for balance._

* * *

John made it to New York in just under an hour. Having a dragon that can fly faster than a plane came in handy when you were in a hurry. As he flew over New York City, he called Astrid to find out what hospital Harry had been taken to. She told him Bellevue Hospital. That's where he headed.

He and Garff landed just outside the ER. He signaled for Garff to fly up to the roof and wait for him. John ran into the ER waiting room and found Astrid arguing with one of the nurses.

"What do you mean you can't tell me?" Astrid yelled. "I'm his fiancée. I have a right to know what happened to him!"

John walked over and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and gave the nurse an apologetic look. "Astrid, calm down. I'm sure Harry is fine. He's being taken care of by the best doctors in the country."

Astrid shoved his hand away. "I still want to know where he is!"

John looked at the nurse. "Do you know where he is? Or can you get us someone who does?"

"If you give me a minute, I can look up his file and see if he's in our system yet," the nurse replied.

"Thank you, ma'am," John replied. "Come on, Astrid, let's sit down and give her a chance to look."

Astrid begrudgingly sat down, still fuming. John stared at the young women as an old memory formed. He quickly found himself traveling back in time.

* * *

_"As you said, Hiccup is tough," Jorn consoled._

_"I know. What Johann did to him though; it's worse than what he did six months ago," Astrid remarked. "Hiccup spent a month in a coma due to the blood loss. After he woke up, he was angry and full of rage. It took weeks for him to finally open up and tell us what happened in those caves. He was finally getting better. Then he went down into that stupid cave, at Gothi's request. Seeing Johann blink nearly sent him back. He's spent the past month trying to hide it, but he was scared. He was nowhere near ready to face Johann again. To go with Ryker and willingly be tortured, all for a zero to slim chance at killing Johann, was, was, I don't know what it was."_

_Jorn watched as the young woman poured her heart out to a man she hardly knew. She was so scared of what the future might hold. She didn't know if the Hiccup she knew and loved would come back to her or not._

_The healer placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "He'll come back. I promise."_

_Astrid wiped away any evidence that she might have been crying. "I hope you're right."_

_Jorn decided it was time to change the subject. "Before you head out, can you help me change the bandages real quick?"_

_Astrid stood up. "Sure. No problem."_

_The two worked in silence as they discarded the old bandages, cleaned the wounds, and bandaged them again. They worked as if they had been doing it for years. Jorn was impressed with how careful and gentle Astrid was with Hiccup's injured body. The girl would make a great healer. She was someone who could tend to the injured on the battlefield and continue to fight at the same time._

* * *

John smiled at the memory. Astrid deeply cared for her soul mate, no matter what. It didn't matter when or where; they had a love that withstood the testament of time. As he started to walk toward where Astrid was sitting, the building began to shake.

Not again, was John's only thought as he dove for cover. As the building shook, the power went out and gods knew what crashed to the floor.

After what felt like an eternity, everything became still. John fumbled for his phone and turned on its flashlight. He scanned the room. "Everyone alright?"

Several "Yeah's" echoed, with a few "No's". One of the no's belonged to Astrid. He quickly found her. Her leg was trapped under the pipe that had fallen from the ceiling.

He waded through the destruction to get to her. When he finally reached her, he knelt down to get a closer look. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

Astrid shook her head. "I don't think so." The doctor examined the pipe to make sure it hadn't embedded itself into her leg somehow, before trying to lift it. It quickly proved to be too heavy.

John scanned the room with his flashlight once more until he spotted a man standing, trying to console an obviously frightened woman. "You, sir, can I get some help over here? I have a woman trapped under a pipe."

The man gave the woman a kiss and walked over, eager to help. "What do you need?"

"I need help lifting this pipe off of her leg," John explained. "Go to the other end and on the count of three, we lift. Astrid, as soon as the pipe is off of your leg, back up as quickly as you can."

The man got into position. "Okay. One, two, three!" The two men lifted the pipe, grunting, and Astrid backed up. As soon as she was safely away they set the pipe back down. At that second several doctors and nurses entered the room.

As both men stood up, John reached his hand out. "Thanks for your help, Mr…?"

"Beckstrom," the man replied, shaking his hand. "You can call me Liam though."

"Well, thanks again, Liam," John said he looked back over at the woman. "She's your wife?"

Liam nodded. "Yeah, Jess."

"Is she okay?" John asked.

"I think so," Liam said. "Just a bit shaken up. I'd better get back to her."

John walked over to Astrid and knelt down to examine her leg. "Can you move your foot?"

Astrid wiggled her foot. "Yeah."

"It's probably not broken then," John stated. "Bruising is starting to form. Let's move you to a chair, while I try and see if I can find some spare crutches or something. You shouldn't put any weight on it."

"Don't worry about me," Astrid said. "I'll be fine. Harry needs you. He's somewhere in the hospital."

John knew she was right, but he really didn't want to leave her. "Are you sure? You'll be okay?"

"I'll be fine," Astrid insisted. "Go."

John nodded and stood. He waded once more through the rubble and down a corridor, searching for Harry's room.

* * *

A/N: So glad everyone is enjoying the story so far.

As always thanks for reading. Don't forget to favorite and review.

Special thanks to Draconbeing for the ever amazing beta reader that they are


	6. Chapter 6

John wandered the corridors of the ER wing of the hospital, looking for Harry. So far, he had no luck. He was ready to move onto the next floor when he heard someone calling out.

"Anyone out there?" the voice shouted. "I'm stuck. Someone help!"

John followed the voice, locating it inside the last room at the end of the wing. The door was blocked by debris. "Hello?"

No reply. He called out again "Hello? Anyone in there? Harry, is that you?"

Still no reply. John set his phone down and began to move the debris as fast he could. He started with the light stuff and worked his way up to the heavy stuff. It took some time, but he managed to get to the door and force it open after picking up his phone.

On the floor lay an unconscious Harry, with blood pouring from a wound in his lower abdomen. John rushed to the young man's side and began applying pressure with one hand and the other checking for a pulse. "Come on, kid. Now is not the fucking time to die. The world needs you. Astrid needs you."

He let out a sigh of relief as he felt a pulse. He picked up the phone once again and tried to call Astrid, but he had no signal. "Looks like we're on our own, kid. Just like old times."

* * *

_"Ugrngh," Hiccup groaned._

_"Stay still, kid," Jorn said as he placed a gentle hand on Hiccup's chest to keep him from moving. "I'm not done stitching your leg up."_

_"How long have I been out?" Hiccup asked._

_"About twelve hours. Johann was furious when I told him you were still unconscious. He wants you in his chambers by sun-up," Jorn explained as he finished the final stitching._

_"How long until then?" Hiccup asked. How much time did he have left to recover?_

_"I told him that you weren't going anywhere until you had a chance to recover from the blood loss," Jorn said as he began to wrap a bandage over Hiccup's leg._

_"Blood loss?" Hiccup questioned. His wounds couldn't be that bad._

_Jorn shook his head. "Don't worry. There really wasn't much. I just told him that, to give you some more time. You have about six hours to rest before you go back to him. He's hoping to see if he can cause another seizure. He really enjoyed the last one."_

_"He's a freaking psychopath," Hiccup stated. "How could someone be so evil?"_

_Jorn pulled a vial out of his bag and placed it in Hiccup's right hand. "Drink this. It will relieve the pain and help you to sleep more naturally."_

_As Hiccup drank the tonic, Jorn moved down to Hiccup's leg and foot. Johann had taken a strap to the poor kid's limb and beat it mercilessly until the bones broke. He looked at Hiccup's face, to find the tonic had already taken effect._

_He had lied to Hiccup when he said he had six hours to recover. Johann wanted him within the next hour. Jorn knew what he had planned for Hiccup and decided the kid was better off asleep for it._

* * *

John looked at Harry's wound. It wasn't deep enough to hit anything vital, but it had been bleeding long enough for it to be fatal. He had to close it and fast. Acting on instinct, John removed his shirt and belt. He placed the shirt over the wound before wrapping his belt as tightly as he could around Harry's waist, to hold the shirt in place.

He stood up and searched the room for anything he could use to close the wound. The doctor found nothing. He ran out of the room, down to the nearest supply closest, and grabbed everything he needed and extras.

John ran back to the room and tossed the supplies into a chair. He bent over and picked Harry up, setting him on the bed. Quickly, he removed his blood-soaked belt and shirt, before grabbing a pair of scissors and cutting Harry's shirt off. He then proceeded to clean the wound with alcohol wipes and a washcloth.

With the wound now clean, John grabbed the suture thread, a needle, and a small pair of scissors and began to sew the wound shut. Harry didn't stir once throughout the whole procedure.

Once John was finished stitching the wound, he covered it with a bandage. Now finished saving Harry, John looked around the room, wondering what could have caused the injury. Most of the room was intact aside from a heart monitor being knocked over. So what could it have been? That's when he saw it. Under the bed, covered in blood. A scalpel.

Very carefully, with his gloved hands, he picked it up. "What's a scalpel doing in here? He came in after a seizure. Not a car crash."

The wheels in the doctor's head started turning. Who would want to hurt Harry? Several people came to mind; Johann, Grimmel, Drago, and Krogan. John shook his head. If it had been any of them, they would have made sure to finish the job. Besides, there had been no evidence that they had reincarnations running around.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard a groan coming from the bed. He set the scalpel aside, ripped off his gloves, and moved to the side of the bed. "Harry, can you hear me? It's John."

Harry slowly opened his eyes. "John?"

"Hey, kid," John said with a small smile. "Try to stay as still as possible. You've been hurt pretty badly and lost a lot of blood. Do you know who did this to you?" Harry shook his head. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"Some guy coming into my room," Harry answered. "I couldn't make out his face. He was wearing a hoodie and I was still a bit out of it. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, kid," John reassured. "Did he say anything?"

Harry was quiet for a moment while he tried to remember. "No. He just stabbed me and left as the building started to shake. Probably some druggie, mistaking me for someone else." That's when he started to have a moment of panic. "Where's Astrid? Is she okay?"

John placed a hand a Hiccup's shoulder to keep him from trying to get up. "She's fine. Don't worry about her. Worry about you. Do you remember anything else?"

Harry was starting to have trouble keeping his eyes open. "He reeked of Axe. It was like he bathed in it."

"That's good kid," John said. "Just rest now, okay?"

Harry made no argument as he shut his eyes, and fell into a deep slumber.

John patted Harry's shoulder before sitting down in the chair. He wasn't going to leave the kid's side. Someone would eventually come looking for them.

* * *

A/N: So glad everyone is enjoying the story. It's got probably 15 or so chapters left, not sure yet. It's definitely my longest work yet. Fair warning there will be no daily update on the 26th and 27th of this month. My husband and I are going out of town to a city a few hours away for a doctor's appointment (closest RA doctor that takes my husband's insurance). I will be taking my laptop with me, but I won't be posting anything.

As always thanks for reading. Don't forget to favorite and review.

Special thanks to Draconicbeing2.0 for being an amazing beta-reader.


	7. Chapter 7

Astrid sat in the back of an ambulance with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders while a doctor looked at her leg. The damage around them was unspeakable. Half of the hospital was destroyed, as well as 3 quarters of the city. There was no power anywhere. No even back-up generators were working. Rescue teams were still searching the hospital for survivors.

"You're quite lucky, ma'am," the doctor said. "Nothing is broken. Just stay off of it for a few days and you'll be fine."

"Thanks," Astrid said, her mind elsewhere.

Outside the ambulance were three dragons; Garff, Stormfly and Toothless. Garff and Toothless kept glancing back at the hospital, waiting for their riders to come out. The building was too unstable for the dragons to enter without risking its stability.

Time seemed to pass slowly for everyone as they all waited with bated breath to see who would be brought out alive or dead.

* * *

_"How is he?" Astrid asked._

_"He just woke up again and I put him back to sleep again," Jorn answered. "Other then that, no change."_

_Astrid sat next to Hiccup's head and started running her fingers through his hair. "Don't worry. Hiccup is tough. He'll find a way to get through this."_

_In the corner, Toothless purred in agreement._

_Jorn shook his head. "I've seen men the size of his father break under the pain Johann caused. The fact that he is still breathing is a miracle. He refused to break. He was in constant mind-blowing pain and he still refused. Tough isn't the word I would use."_

_"What word you use?" Astrid wondered._

_"If I didn't know any better, I'd say Hiccup was a god," Jorn admitted._

_Astrid studied the man. He was in awe with Hiccup's willpower, but he was also tired. He'd been awake for Thor knows how long._

_"You look exhausted. You're no good to Hiccup if you run yourself into the ground. I speak from experience. Why don't you go wash up in the stream and get some sleep? I'll watch Hiccup for a bit." Astrid suggested._

_"Do you know what needs to be done? How to change bandages and clean wounds?" Jorn asked._

_"Been doing it a while," Astrid answered. Jorn gave her a pointed look. "How about this: if anything goes wrong, I'll come and get you. Deal?"_

_Jorn sighed. She was right he was exhausted; how well could he treat the kid if he was dead on his own feet? "If anything happens, I want to know right away."_

_Astrid held up her hand in a promise. "I'll get you if anything happens."_

_Jorn stood up and stretched his tight muscles. "If he wakes up again, try to get him to have some boar broth, before giving him the tonic. His stomach can't handle solid foods quite yet."_

_Astrid nodded. "No problem."_

_Jorn walked down the stairs and left. Astrid removed the covers hiding Hiccup's bandaged wounds. She had never gotten a good look at Hiccup since they found him and Jorn flying toward them._

_He wasn't wearing any clothing aside from a pair of skivvies that rested just above the wound to his right leg. His chest and stomach were entirely wrapped in bandaging. His left shoulder and right forearm were wrapped as well._

_Her eyes moved down to his stump. From what she understood, not only had Johann taken his fake leg, but he cut into the scarring, the most sensitive part of it._

_She remembered watching Gothi doing her best to stitch the remaining part of his lower left leg together. She had lost count after about a hundred stitches. Gobber later told her that Hiccup had 213 stitches holding his leg together. So much for someone so small. But all the damage caused by the inferno and Toothless grabbing him, it was amazing he didn't lose more of his leg._

_Astrid felt tears beginning to fall down her cheeks. It was hurting her to look at him like this. Johann did much worse this time around._

_The warrior quickly wiped the tears away and forced herself to continue looking at Hiccup's injured body. His right leg and foot were in a splint and was wrapped up tightly in more bandages keep him from moving the broken bones._

_Higher up, his thigh was wrapped tight. Johann had stabbed him just above the knee. Both of Hiccup's legs were damaged. It would be weeks, maybe even months before he would be able to walk on his own again. He would be laid up in bed, unable to do anything but recover and be waited on hand and foot._

_Astrid pulled the blankets over Hiccup, covering up his battered body. She sat back down and watched his chest rise and fall._

* * *

John stood by the door, listening for a sign of anyone looking for them. He was about to give up when he heard shouts coming from the distance. He stepped into the hallway and shouted. "Over here! We need help!"

A light shined down the hall, blinding John for a second as he heard. "I found someone! Down here. Come on, guys!"

Within a couple of minutes, John was greeted by a rescue team of three. "Is there anyone else with you?"

"Yes," John led them into the room. "He's been injured, and the only way to move him is if we can get him into a wheelchair."

"Don't worry about it," one of the rescuers assured. "Ronny, go see if you can find a wheelchair. We have a path cleared to the nearest exit. We'll get you out of here. How about you sir? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," John answered. "Let's just get out of here."

* * *

John pushed Harry down the hall with two of the rescue workers in front of him and one behind them.

"How bad is it outside?" John asked.

"Horrible. Most of the city itself is gone," Ronny answered. "The power grid is completely wiped. Communications as well. We can't even radio ahead to let them know we found survivors. No way to get a signal of any kind. We don't know about anywhere else. Dragons are in a bit of frenzy though. It's like they know something we don't."

"Dragons are very intuitive creatures," John stated. "They'll know things long before you or I ever figure it out."

"Tell me about it," Ronny agreed. "My little girl was playing in the yard about a week ago when a dragon came out of nowhere, picked her up, and moved her twenty feet from where she was. I was about ready to go after the dragon when all of a sudden a car comes barreling into the yard and crashed into one our trees. Right, where she was playing. If it wasn't for him, my little girl wouldn't be here."

"Dragons are amazing creatures," John said. "I'm glad your daughter is okay."

"Exit's up ahead," one of the other workers said. "Just a few more yards. Fred, run ahead and let them know we have injured coming out."

John watched as Fred ran ahead, shouting as loud as he could.

Upon exiting, Harry was immediately taken from John by a medic toward a nearby ambulance. John followed. "His name is Harry, 20 years old, prone to seizures. He was stabbed by someone."

Harry was removed from the wheelchair and loaded on to a stretcher in the ambulance. A doctor was sitting inside the vehicle ready to treat Harry. "How long has he been unconscious?"

"About four hours," John answered. "I treated the wound as quickly as I could. He lost a lot of blood and will need a transfusion. Surgery might be required to see if there is any internal damage."

"We'll do everything we can," The other doctor promised. "Someone will come and find you when I'm done."

John nodded his thanks and began to look for Astrid in the crowd. He wasn't looking for long when he was tackled by an orange blur. "Garff!"

Garff let out a happy tune and began to lick his human. John carefully pushed Garff of him and stood up. "I'm happy to see you too, buddy. Where's Astrid at?"

Garff bobbed his head and turned around, running back into the sea of people. John followed closely as the Deathsong led him to another ambulance. As they got closer, John saw her sitting on the edge, wrapped in a blanket, drinking from a foam glass.

"Astrid," John called out.

Astrid looked up and smiled with glee "John!"

John closed the distance and sat down right next to her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Astrid said. "Just have a rather nasty bruise from the pipe. The doctor treating me went to find a pair of crutches. Where's Harry?"

John didn't answer, he simply frowned.

"John," Astrid said more sternly. "Where's Harry? Answer me!"

"He's going to be fine," John promised before he went on to explain everything.

Astrid held back the tears threatening to fall. "Where is he now?"

"In another ambulance being taken care of," John answered. "He's in great hands. Someone will come and find us when they have news."

Astrid just nodded. She didn't say anything. They just had to wait for news. That's all it was now; a waiting game.

* * *

A/N: Hope everyone is enjoying themselves so far. As for the guest review about spicing it up, trauma is my specialty, so hurting Hiccup is going to happen here and there and this story is spiced it up, just give it some time.

Idea time: I was thinking about breaking this story up into two part. End it on a cliff hanger and post the next part under a different title. Let me know what you think.

As always thanks for reading. Don't forget to favorite and review.

Special thanks to Draconicbeing2.0 for being an amazing beta reader. Don't forget to tell them thanks. Without them they this series wouldn't exist.


	8. Chapter 8

_Jorn walked in and found his patient sitting at the table going over several documents at once. "So this is your idea of resting?"_

_"I'm just reading, Jorn," Hiccup stated. "These are important documents that can't wait. Births and weddings. Someone is trying for divorce since the husband is refusing to help provide for the family. Apparently, all he wants to do is drink mead and bet on races. He doesn't help tend to the land. He treats the children like slaves, which they aren't."_

_Jorn could tell Hiccup was getting worked up over the pitiful excuse for a Viking. He needed the kid to calm down. Stress was the last thing he needed. "How about we let Gobber look over the documents? He and the council can come to a decision, later. Right now, go upstairs and change out of your flying gear. By the time you're done, dinner will be started. Wake up Toothless if you can."_

_Hiccup stood and headed upstairs. Jorn set the uncooked dinner down and picked up the papers. He put them into a neat pile and hid them away in a nearby book. After that, he took out the yak ribs he had purchased, seasoned them with salt, and put them in the coal oven. He began to make a sauce his mother taught him to make while searching for a knife to cut the loaf of bread._

_He placed the sauce in a small pot and held it over the fire, waiting for it to simmer. Once it was done simmering, he opened the coal oven and poured it over the ribs. After he poured it all out, he set to work slicing up various vegetables to turn into a stew._

_As he was mixing them together, Hiccup came back down the stairs, followed by Toothless, who looked a little better. His steps sounded as if he had a Gronkle attached to each leg. Jorn watched as Hiccup basically fell into his chair and laid his head on the table. Toothless sat by Hiccup's side, obviously hungry but trying not to show it. He was staring at Hiccup in an offhanded way._

_Jorn set the pot of vegetables down, picked up the basket of fish, and walked over to Hiccup. "You're not looking too good, kid. Aside from last night, when was the last time you slept? Or ate?" He dropped the basket of fish for Toothless, but he ignored it. The Night Fury was whining, staring at Hiccup worriedly._

_Hiccup gave no response to either of them. He lay motionless at the table. Jorn lifted Hiccup's head off the table and pushed him into the back of the chair. He felt for a pulse. It was very slow and irregular. Quickly, Jorn picked up a nearby candle and forced one of Hiccup's eyes open. He watched as the pupils expand, but not much. Toothless was pacing now, whining and moaning._

_Jorn leaned in and listened to Hiccup's breathing. It sounded like he had been gargling salt water. All signs pointed to him having a seizure. He'd definitely been upstairs long enough to have one and come to enough to come back downstairs._

_Jorn picked Hiccup up and carried him back upstairs. Toothless followed, worried for his rider._

* * *

Once John learned that Harry would be okay, he and Garff flew off to see just how bad the damage was. They spent a week looking at the mass destruction across all of North and South America. Both continents were basically leveled. Very few buildings remained standing. There was no power anywhere. It was as if it never existed. No form of technology worked. Only things that had any kind of power were flashlights and other devices that took batteries. Cars, planes, and trains weren't working either. The only way to get anywhere was either on foot, bike, man-powered boat, or dragon. It was if the entire world regressed a thousand years. No one was sure what had caused the second earthquake. John assumed it was all the alpha dragons emerging.

John landed outside a small cabin just outside of what used to be Panama City, Florida, dismounted Garff, walked up to the door, and knocked.

"Who's there?" A voice from inside asked.

"It's John," John replied. "I got your Terror Mail."

The door swung open, revealing a very disheveled Frank. "Took you long enough."

John squeezed pass Frank. "Sorry, I was in Alaska when I got the Terror Mail. Poor thing was nearly frozen to death."

"How bad is it out there?" Frank asked.

"It looks like several nuclear bombs went off, but without the radiation," John described. "Where's Harry?"

"Upstairs," Frank answered. "Astrid got him here last night. Toothless hasn't left his side. His wound is infected."

"And no luck finding antibiotics?" John asked.

Frank shook his head. "Not a single pharmacy in a hundred-mile radius."

"Okay, Frank, I need you and Simon go out and find me; garlic, honey, Goldenseal, ginger, and clove," John listed off. "As fast as you can. Tommy and Rhea, I need you go and find willow bark, valerian root, and frankincense."

The four young adults just nodded and ran out of the cabin, calling their dragons. John went upstairs and found Astrid sleeping in a chair next to the single-sized bed which held the one and only, Harry Carp. Toothless sat at the foot of the bed, staring at his rider.

John slowly walked over to Toothless and laid a hand on his snout. "It'll be okay Toothless, I promise."

Toothless just glanced at the doctor for a second then went back to looking at Harry. John walked over to Harry's side and pulled back the covers. The young man had no shirt on and the only clothes he wore were a pair of boxers. John touched the skin around the bandaged wound. It was warm to the touch. He moved his hand to the young man's forehead, also warm to the touch. Very carefully, he began to remove the bandage to get a look at the actual wound. It was red and inflamed with puss leaking out of it. It was hard to look at it. Even John, a trained medical professional, could hardly stand to look at it without gagging.

He walked downstairs and grabbed a dishcloth and several bottles of water. He went back upstairs and began to carefully clean the wound. As he finished cleaning the wound, he heard the front door open. He walked to the foot of the stairs and was met with a familiar sight.

* * *

_Jorn decided to stay with Hiccup instead of going back to the Great Hall. He sat at Hiccup's desk and watched his chest rise and fall. The kid's breathing had evened out, but he still wasn't waking up. Toothless was sleeping on his rock, worn out from helping Jorn._

_The healer was growing worried. With all the stress Hiccup had been under in the past few months, his health had taken its toll. A seizure was his body pleading with him to slow down and take it easy._

_Jorn was pulled from his thoughts when he heard the front door open._

_"Hello," an unfamiliar voice called out. Jorn got up and walked down the stairs to greet the newcomer._

_"Hi. I'm Jorn," Jorn greeted as he studied the new face. She was thin but fit. Her hair was auburn just like Hiccup's and her eyes were the same emerald green. He decided this was his mother. "You must be Hiccup's mother, Valka."_

_Valka stared at him, unsure whether to attack or not. The best course of action: talk to him and see if he is a threat. "What are you doing here?"_

_"Hiccup and Astrid offered me a place to stay until a hut could be built," Jorn answered._

_"Where are they?" Valka demanded._

_"Astrid is in the village with her parents," Jorn replied. "And Hiccup is upstairs. He's, um, not awake yet. Something happened."_

_Valka ran past Jorn and practically flew up the stairs. Toothless jumped up quickly into a fighting stance, growling, but sat down again once he saw Valka. Jorn quickly followed in order to keep her calm. He came up next to her as he stood over her unconscious son._

_"What happened?" Valka asked, fear pouring into her body._

_"You know about his condition?" Jorn wanted to confirm._

_Valka's eyes widened. "He had one of those seizures?"_

_Jorn nodded. "Yeah. A bad one by the looks of it. He's put so much on himself, trying to fill Stoick's boots, his body can't take it. I'm doing what I can, but when it comes to things like this, all you can you do is wait."_

_Valka sat down where Jorn had been sitting previously. "You're a healer."_

_Jorn knelt down next to her, reaching eye level. "Yeah. Don't worry; I know how to treat him. But like I said, it's a waiting game right now. If he has any problems when he wakes up, I will do everything in my power to make him better."_

_Valka didn't say anything. She simply stared at her son, fearing the worst. Tears fell from her eyes. Jorn instinctively reached his hand up and wiped them away._

_"No tears yet," Jorn said. "Healer's orders."_

_Valka let out a watery laugh and nodded. "Yes, sir."_

_The two stared at each other. At that moment, both felt something. It was as if they had been long lost friends who finally found each other again, only to realize their feelings for another moved past friendship. Before either could act on this feeling, a groan could be heard from the bed._

* * *

"Valka," John said.

"That was my name a thousand years ago," Valerie corrected. "I don't blame you though. I still want to call you Jorn."

John gave her a small smile and walked down the stairs. He felt that same spark he felt when he was Jorn. History was repeating itself. When they had met in the hospital after the first earthquake, the spark wasn't there. Both were still remembering and were too busy for anything else.

"How is he?" Valerie asked, pulling John from his love-struck thoughts.

"His wound's infected," John answered. "I'm waiting for Frank, Simon, Tommy, and Rhea to get back with the lists of herbs and plants I need."

"And Astrid?" Valerie wondered.

"Asleep in a chair at his bedside," John stated. "Who's cabin is this, by the way?"

"It used to belong to, Kevin, my late husband," Valerie answered. "After he died, it hurt too much to come back here."

"I'm sorry for your loss," John said, sympathetically.

Valerie let out a rye laugh. "Don't be. He was a horrible man. He was a man of power in these parts. In public, he was a great man. Behind closed doors, not so much. We could do no right. Harry won't admit it, but he got the brunt of the abuse. Mostly because he was skinny and a bit of a nerd, nothing like his father."

John looked at her in shock. "I had no clue. He never said."

"Probably never will," Valerie said it. "Harry doesn't know this, but it's his father's fault they crashed. Kevin paid a man to crash into them. I think he underestimated the damage. He was hoping to Harry would die and he would walk away. I'm so glad he was wrong."

"How do you know this?" John wondered.

"When I brought Harry home, I started cleaning out his father's stuff," Valerie explained. "I found letters, emails, texts to and from the man that hit them. I took it to the cops and never told Harry. He had enough to deal with."

The two stood in silence as John absorb this new information. Kevin had been nothing like Stoick, despite virtually being the same person. Kevin had been an abusive asshole, who tried to kill his own son.

John was the first to break the silence. "At least this cabin can be put to good use now. We'll fill it with better and happier memories."

At that moment several roars could be heard outside; the rest of the riders were back.

* * *

John quickly mixed the herbs together. He made a salve and a tonic. He applied the salve to the wound and wrapped it up in clean bandaging. With Valerie's help, he was able to get the unconscious Harry to swallow the tonic. The tonic was to help with pain and reduce the fever. The salve was going help get rid of the infection.

"We'll need to reapply the salve every eight or so hours," John said. "And get him to drink the tonic every twelve hours. With luck and hope, he'll wake up in a couple of days." He looked at the riders standing around the room. "You guys go and get some rest. You must be exhausted."

* * *

A/N: So glad everyone is still enjoying the story. I'm going to go with my gut and leave a cliffhanger at the end of a certain chapter and mark it as complete and pick up where I left off. Not to torture you guys. I'm dealing with stuff on an emotional level and can't really bring myself to write anymore. Give me a few weeks or so to get my head back on straight and I'll share part two.

As always thanks for reading. Don't forget to favorite and review.

Special thanks to Draconicbeing2.0 for being an amazing beta reader and friend.


	9. Chapter 9

_Hiccup woke up back in his cell. His forearm was burning. The air stung. He opened his eyes and looked at his arm. What he saw was gut-wrenching. His skin was gone. He looked around saw Jorn standing by waiting to see his reaction._

_Hiccup screwed his eyes shut, stopping the tears that threatened to spill. "What happened?!"_

_Jorn moved over toward Hiccup. "Session number three. Known to break the strongest of men. They would give Johann whatever he wanted. He's hoping it does the same to you."_

_"How come you haven't treated it yet?" Hiccup demanded._

_"You needed to see it first. I need to know you won't break yet," Jorn replied as he emptied his medicine bag._

_"I've lost a leg," Hiccup answered. "This is nothing."_

_Jorn nodded as he began to numb the area around the missing skin, and cleaned up the blood. There was no way to close the wound, other than to bandage it up and change it every few hours. Numbing it helped slow the bleeding. It was going to be weeks before it would start to heal._

_The kid was stronger than Jorn gave him credit for. He knew he was lying about how losing his leg freaked him out more. He was scared beyond comprehension, but he wasn't going to break. Johann was going to have to do a lot more than peel and cut his skin._

_"Rest up kid," Jorn said as he finished wrapping the wound. "We arrive at Stinger Island in a few hours._

_Hiccup didn't put up a fight. He was drained. Staying awake was too much work._

* * *

Harry woke up to a dim, candle-lit room. He tried to sit up, only to have a firm hand hold him down. "Stay still, kid. I just finished changing your bandages."

Harry looked up at the man talking to him. "John?"

Toothless's ears perked up at the sound of his rider. The Night Fury immediately jumped up and licked Harry's face, tail wagging. "Hey, Toothless! Glad to see you too," Harry exclaimed, then grunted in pain as Toothless brushed an injured spot.

"Easy Toothless. He's not ready for you just yet." John had to pull him off, for fear of harming Harry. The dragon whined, but Garff whistled and Toothless backed off.

John turned back to Harry. He waited a moment longer for Toothless to settle uncomfortably before fixing Harry's loose bandage.

"How long ha-?" Harry's voice trailed off as he spotted Astrid sleeping in a chair, Stormfly dozing next to her.

"Ten days," John answered, following Harry's line of sight. "She has rarely left that chair; Toothless refused to eat for a bit as well."

"What happened?" Harry asked.

John caught him up with everything that happened after he slipped in a coma. "... Mass destruction everywhere. No modern technology anywhere in the world. It's as if the Earth reverted back to what it was a thousand years ago."

"Any idea what's caused it?" Harry questioned.

John shook his head. "Some are saying it was a delayed aftershock from the first one. A few preachers are claiming wrath of God. Others are saying the old gods have re-awoken or the alpha dragons have returned. Right now it's all speculation with no proof."

Harry was quiet for a minute. As he thought, a memory came to the surface.

* * *

_Hiccup woke up the sound of his baby boy crying. He lifted his hands to his eyes to rub the sleep of them, only to feel someone stop him. "Easy, kid. I just finished bandaging you up."_

_The young chief blinked a few times to bring his blurred vision into focus. "Jorn? Where's SJ?"_

_"He's right here, babe," Astrid answered. "He's just a little cranky from his nap. Normally Toothless or Stormfly would have slept with him, but..." Her voice trailed off for a moment before changing the subject. "How are you feeling?"_

_With Jorn's help, Hiccup sat up. "Like I just fought a madman while falling through the sky."_

_"Accurate," Jorn noted. "Because that's what you did. Now, follow my finger." He dragged his finger from side to side in front of Hiccup's eyes._

_"Did I have a seizure?" Hiccup asked, knowing Jorn only did this when he had one. Usually, he remembered them, but not this time, it would seem._

_"Yeah," Jorn answered. "As soon as the dragons disappeared beyond the horizon, you collapsed and began convulsing. Weird thing, you were still conscious for a few seconds afterward. Eye movement is slow, but should be better later on. Stretch your arm out and make a fist."_

_Hiccup did as he was told. He waited for Jorn to tap out a minute as he took his pulse. "How long was I out?"_

_"Heart rate is returning to normal," Jorn noted. "Most of the day. The sun is getting ready to set."_

_"What's the damage?" Hiccup asked._

_"Broken ribs and right wrist, twenty stitches altogether, a bruise on just about every part of your body," Jorn replied._

_"What about my leg?" Hiccup wondered._

_"Still no sign of it," Astrid answered. "The twins and Fishlegs sailed down and looked. Gobber's working on making you a new one. He should have it ready in a couple of days."_

_"That means you're on bed rest until then," Jorn stated._

_"Figured that out already," Hiccup remarked._

_The room fell silent for a long while. The only sounds that could be heard were the Berkians outside gathering supplies to build their new village. Children could be heard playing. But no dragons. Their roars did not fill the air, nor their giant flapping wings. There were none to yell at for blocking a path or eating a whole basket of food not meant for them. The silence of the tent was broken by SJ starting to wail._

_"Give him to me," Hiccup said, holding out his good hand. "I'll calm him down." Astrid handed their crying child over to her husband, who held him close to his chest and began to rock him ever so slightly. "It's going to be okay, SJ. One day, the dragons will come back. Once it's safe for them. Together, we'll spread the word about what kind, protective, amazing creatures they are. I will tell you tales of epic battles fought in the sky. I will speak of old and new lands."_

_As Hiccup talked of the dragons, little SJ quieted down and began to fall asleep. Astrid watched as tears traced Hiccup's cheeks. This change was going to be harder on him, harder than anyone else in the tribe._

_"... One day in the distant future, we'll sail to the Hidden World with you, Mama, and your siblings. There, I'll introduce you to all the dragons we can find," Hiccup finished._

* * *

"What if it was the Archipelago?" Harry pondered. "I remember in senior year, during history, the teacher talked about this crazy, way out there theory. Beneath the ocean floor of the Atlantic is a hundred or so islands that sunk when the Viking Age ended, taking as much of their history as they could. He said that the world was waiting for the right time to bring the islands back to the surface. Has anyone flown out that way yet?"

John shook his head again. "No. We'll set a plan and fly out once you're better."

"How long will that take?" Harry asked.

"Infection and fever have run its course," John answered. "The wound itself just needs to heal. Shouldn't take more than a few more days."

Harry just nodded before saying. "We got anything to eat? I'm starving."

John let out a small chuckle. "I'll go see what I can whip up. Just stay here. You're still too weak to get out of bed." He stood up and headed downstairs.

As soon as he was gone, Toothless tried to run at Harry but was stopped by Garff. The Night Fury growled, but Garff would not let him get past.

Astrid woke up to the growling. She took a second to stretch and rub the sleep out of her eyes, then muttered a calming thing to the dragons, who quieted.

Once she opened her eyes all the way, she smiled at the sight of seeing Harry awake. She stood up and practically ran to him.

"You're awake!" She exclaimed, pointing out the obvious.

"Yeah, I know," Harry responded. "Have been for about ten minutes now."

Astrid just smiled at sat down next to his head. The couple sat in silence while waiting for John to come back with some food.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the wait. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Both my beta reader and I got busy yesterday and couldn't get the chapter out.

As always thanks for reading. Don't forget to favorite and review. Stay tuned for the next chapter.

Special thanks to Draconicbeing for being an amazing beta reader and friend. Don't for to thank them as well.


	10. Chapter 10

Two weeks later:

Harry's theory had proven correct. The islands of the Archipelago had in fact resurfaced. Any that had been inhabited before sinking still had buildings, statues, and whatever else that had been left behind, in near perfect condition. It was quite a sight to see.

After seeing the islands, the riders headed back to the cabin. They needed a plan. Over the course of a couple of weeks, they planned. It was agreed that a census needed to be taken. People died in the last earthquake. How many, no one knew for sure. Valerie had taken up the task, due to how well she was connected in the Air Force.

"What do we do with the survivors?" Harry wondered as the gang sat around eating lunch. "Do we relocate them to the Archipelago, or leave them?"

"How would we even go about relocating them?" Astrid asked.

"We relocated an entire island," Harry pointed out. "Surely we can relocate the whole world? Might take longer, but it can be achieved. All seven continents have been leveled, soon all that will become inhabitable for us. Food, medicine, and fresh water are already scarce. Whereas the islands are in perfect condition and can sustain human life, for many generations to come."

"Okay," Frank agreed. "But how do we go about convincing everyone they need to relocate?"

"It's not like we can go from place to place and talk to every single person," Simon remarked sarcastically.

Harry smirked and snapped his fingers. "That's exactly what we'll do, Simon. Great idea."

"That will take forever," Tommy complained.

"No, it won't," John said. "Give it some time and word of mouth will make things go faster."

"How do we know who goes where?" Rhea asked.

"As soon as Mom finishes the census, we'll do a set number of people per island," Harry explained. "It will be a temporary set up until everyone is moved. After that, they'll be free to go where they want. We just have to make sure families don't get separated."

* * *

One month later:

The worldwide census was complete. Only 67 million people remained. 7.6 billion people died. Among the dead was the President and his family, the Royal family, Bill Gates, Morgan Freeman, Betty White, thousands of other public figures, almost every elected official that had currently been in office, whole families.

"Can the islands hold that many people?" Frank asked.

Harry shook his head. "Maybe about half of the remaining population?"

"What about the other half?" Astrid asked. "How do we choose who goes where? Lottery? Have everyone pick from a hat?"

Harry slumped into a chair. "We could relocate families first and go from there."

"Then let's get started," John encouraged.

* * *

_Hiccup waited at the stables for Astrid, Ryker, and the twins. He wouldn't have long with Astrid. She was to catch him up and fill him in on everything, before heading to Berk to help Gothi. Berk needed another healer, and Astrid was the only one qualified enough._

_The four Riders landed under the cover of darkness and dismounted their respective dragons. Jorn and Ryker led the dragons into the stables. Astrid ran to hug Hiccup. Dagur and the twins headed down into the village._

_Astrid let the tears she had been holding back fall down her cheeks. So much death in just a few days. People she had befriended are gone. And more were going to die. She was having trouble staying strong._

_Hiccup allowed her to cry. It was rare for Astrid to cry, but knowing the horrors she has witnessed, he was surprised she had held together this long._

_"It's going to be okay," Hiccup soothed as he gently rubbed her back._

_The couple stood like that for a good while. When Astrid had finished crying, Hiccup began to lead her down to the village toward the Hall of Heroes._

_On the way down, Astrid told him of all the horrors she witnessed. The children, the parents, the elderly, all being killed so that Mala would agree not to help them. It was a horrifying thing to witness. Johann didn't care who he killed as long he made a point._

_After making sure Astrid ate something and getting her into a spare bed, Hiccup went off to find the twins. He found them sitting near the forge, consoling one another. They had witnessed the same horrors Astrid had. Their expressions were full of sorrow and regret. They were helpless to stop the onslaught. They had only managed to delay it._

_The three exchanged short words before the twins set off to find a couple of beds. Hiccup walked into the forge and started it up. He snapped his cane in two and used it as kindle for the fire._

_He began to pound away at scrap metal, with no idea what he wanted to make. He didn't care what he made, as long as it could be used to fight off Johann and his men. The villain had to be coming here next. Berserker Island was the last remaining ally._

_It had to end here. Johann would die here. Hiccup would make sure of it._

* * *

Over the course of the next three months the Riders traveled the world, talking about the Archipelago and why relocating there was the best option for the sake of humanity. A lot of people refused to listen and would ignore them. They were viewed as nutcases blabbering about islands that didn't exist.

Those that did listen happily followed them and helped spread the word. As time went on, more and more people followed. It took a lot of work. As people joined the relocation, they were taught how to ride dragons. Once they mastered the basics of flying and communicating with their dragon, they and their family were taken to an island.

As the islands began filling up with families, Harry made sure the islands had certain people on them; a leader, doctors, first responders, craftsmen, farmers, etc. Boats were built for trading and fishing.

Harry and the rest of the Riders relocated to Berk with what remained of their families. Simon and his dad, David, Astrid and her parents and siblings, Frank and his sisters with their kids, Tommy and Rhea with their little sister.

One day, Harry found himself in the forge adding the finishing touches to his new saddle, while Toothless slept in the corner. As he drew, he thought about an old friend that hadn't returned with everyone else.

* * *

_Hiccup walked into the forge and found Gobber hammering away at a sword. "Hey, Gobber."_

_The blacksmith stopped hammering and turn to look at the younger man. "You should be at home resting."_

_"Couldn't sleep," Hiccup said as he sat down at his worktable. "Staying inside is driving me a bit crazy, so I snuck out after Dad fell asleep."_

_"And came straight here," Gobber guessed._

_Hiccup picked a couple of stray turning gears and shrugged. "Wandered around for a bit. Headed down to the docks and watched the water. On my way back, my legs seemed to bring me here."_

_"What's wrong, Hiccup?" Gobber asked, knowing something was up._

_"Just tired of being cooped up. I'm fully recovered, yet Gothi and Dad insist that I stay in the house," Hiccup answered in a bitter tone._

_Gobber sat down across from the young lad. Stoick had warned him that Hiccup was angry and wasn't himself. The kid basically went to Helheim and back. Johann damaged the boy in more ways than one._

_The aging blacksmith knew that Hiccup was holding back the dam. He was trying to keep other people from knowing what really went down. Everyone kept guessing about what went down inside that cave, but no one knew for sure._

_"Do you want to talk about it?" Gobber wondered, hoping the lad would finally break the dam._

_"What is there to talk about?" Hiccup practically yelled. "There is nothing to talk about. Johann tortured and almost killed me. I lived and he didn't. End of story."_

_"Hiccup there is no need to shout. I'm right here," Gobber soothed. He spoke as if he was speaking to a child. He needed to find a fault in the dam in order for it to break._

_Hiccup stood and began to pace. His face was beet red with anger, or was it shame? Maybe both._

_"Whatever you say will stay between us," Gobber promised. "No one else will know."_

_Hiccup rolled his neck from side to side, loosening up the tense muscles. "Yes, Gobber, I know. But what else is there to say?"_

_"You could tell me what really happened," Gobber suggested. "Maybe if you told me, I could help you."_

_"Where do I even begin?" Hiccup asked._

_Gobber stood up and handed Hiccup a piece of scrap metal. "Here, you can start by turning this into something useful. You'll know where to begin eventually."_

_After an hour of taking all his anger and rage out a piece of scrap metal-turned sword, Hiccup knew where to begin. He placed the sword in a tub of cold water and sat down._

_Hiccup rubbed his left arm absent-mindedly as he watched Gobber finish an axe. He knew where to begin, but how could he even begin to share the horrors with his mentor?_

_Gobber placed the axe with the sword and sat down. "Whenever you're ready, laddie."_

_Hiccup took in a deep breath and sighed. "I'd gotten there just seconds before Johann and Krogan. I saw that the King of Dragons had laid an egg..."_

_The more Hiccup talked, the more Gobber wanted to revive the villain and kill him all over again. By the time Hiccup got to the part about Johann breaking his ribcage, he had tears running down his cheeks. It was hurting Hiccup just to talk about it._

_Gobber watched as Hiccup touched every healed injury as if they were still fresh. Hiccup was suffering under the weight of the memories. His body might have healed, but his mind had not. His anger came from pain. Pain Johann had inflicted knowing full well that Hiccup would be traumatized for the rest of his life if he had survived. Killing him would have been a kindness._

_"So I locked myself away in mind, bringing everyone back to life," Hiccup finished. "How do I know I'm not still dreaming, Gobber? I can't tell the difference between reality and my dreams. When I go to bed I'm trapped in a cage on Johann's ship. He has the King of Dragons. When I open my eyes everyone is still alive. How do I know what's real and what's not?"_

_Gobber took hold of Hiccup's right hand and squeezed. "This is real. Johann is as good as dead. He will remain forever frozen in that cave. He can't cause any more harm. When you close your eyes at night, that world you are seeing isn't real. It's just a figment of your imagination running wild with what could have happened. Everyone is still alive and not going anywhere. I'm sorry about what happened to you, I wouldn't wish it on anybody, not even my worst enemy."_

_Hiccup choked back a sob but remained silent._

_Gobber continued. "You went through hell, laddie, and your brain can't process it. Not on its own. You have to talk to people about it. Share your story. You might not like it, but in the end, you'll feel better, because you know that someone is helping you carry the weight of those memories. I can't promise that you'll forget, but you will know what to do when they resurface."_

_Hiccup nodded. He didn't trust himself to speak. If he opened his mouth, he would start crying like a babe._

_"It's okay to cry," Gobber said. "It doesn't make you any less of a Viking. You should have seen your father after he lost Valka. After he thought we lost you to the Red Death. Crying is healthy. It helps you grieve. It makes easier for you to move forward."_

_Before Hiccup realized it, he was crying. Gobber led him to the back room before he broke down had a full on sob fest._

* * *

Harry looked at the finished saddle, then at Toothless. "What do you think, bud?"

Toothless looked up and gave his hatchling a gummy smile of approval.

"How's the saddle coming along?" A voice behind the young man asked.

Harry turned around. "Hey Mom, just finished it actually. Toothless and I are going to go for a test flight with it as soon as I get it on him. Right, bud?"

Toothless crooned as he bobbed his head up and down, wagging his tail.

"What about the tailfin?" Valerie asked. "Are you going to make one that goes with the tailfin?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. The one I, er, Hiccup made has lasted a thousand years. No signs of it wearing out any time soon."

Valerie chuckled and shook her head. "You really think that Toothless is a thousand years old?"

"Well, yeah," Harry answered. "Dragons have really long lifespans. So it's plausible. Look at Meatlug; she was a hundred when she followed Toothless to the hidden world."

Valerie handed her son a piece of parchment. "I found this is the Great Hall. It was behind the portrait of Hiccup and Stoick. Gothi had written it before the tribe moved. Frank just finished translating it. It talks about a great freeze that would occur after the passing of the chief with the soul of a dragon in the Hidden World. The Bewilderbeast would freeze the most important dragons so they would be alive when their Rider's reincarnations returned. The one with the soul of the dragon would have to meet everyone he needed to rule the new world before the ice would melt. Minutes after you met Jorn, the earth shook and the dragons returned. Do you think that was a coincidence?"

Harry thought for a moment before speaking. "Then where's Gobber, Dagur, Heather, Mala, and everyone else important to Hiccup?"

Valerie shook her head again. "I don't know, son. Maybe their roles weren't significant, or their reincarnations died before the dragons came back. Who's to really say? We might never know. All I know is that Gothi predicted this and never told a soul in the last years of her life. She kept silent. Perhaps she foresaw more and has more written prophecies hidden on Berk and New Berk."

"I'll think about doing a quest to search for New Berk," Harry muttered bitterly as he fitted Toothless with the saddle. "What I do know, is that Toothless and I have a saddle that needs testing. I'll talk to you later, Mom."

* * *

A/N: So sorry for the delay. I would have had it up sooner but stuff just kept getting in the way. Some good, some bad and one really great thing. Long story short; my husband and I had been trying to pregnant for the past year. It was getting to the point where we were wondering if we could even have babies. Last week, I missed my period. I waited the whole week to see if I was late before taking a test. It came out positive. Hooray. We're so excited. We're going schedule an appointment with a doctor to see just how far along I am and whatnot.

As always, thanks for reading. Don't forget to favorite and review.

Special thanks to Draconicbeing2.0 for being an amazing beta reader and friend.

Stay tuned for the next chapter.


	11. Chapter 11

Harry and Toothless soared through the sky. Harry laid on the dragon's back, looking at the clouds, watching them change shape. He wasn't like Hiccup when it came to flying. He didn't do death-defying stunts for a cheap thrill. He just flew because it was fun to soar through the clouds.

"I don't know, bud. Is a quest really necessary? Everything is fine. Everyone is happy. Life is good. Why do we need to dredge up the past? There's a reason it's in the past. It's done and over with. You agree with me, right?"

Toothless didn't answer, just let out a low growl as he looked to his left. Harry sat up and looked around, seeing nothing. "What is it, bud?"

The Night Fury continued to growl. Harry looked in the same direction as Toothless, watching. Less than a minute later a dragon crossed the horizon, into his line of sight. As it got closer, Harry was able to make it out. It was a Skrill. And someone was riding it.

"Bud, I think it's time we got out of here," Harry suggested. "They don't look very friendly."

Toothless slapped Harry with his ear and roared, basically telling him to man up. In no time the pair was face to face with the Skrill and his rider. The rider had light brown skin with very curly, yet messy hair and calf brown eyes. He looked like he was about 17, but Harry knew that couldn't be right. This guy had to be older. The man had a sword attached to his hip. Harry did not recognize him from either life.

"Hiccup Haddock, we meet again," the man said.

"My name is Harry Carp," Harry corrected. "Who are you?"

"Who I am is not important. All that matters is that it is time for you to die," the man answered. "You escaped death at my hand before, but not this time."

Harry could feel his heart rate and breathing speed up. "What are you talking about? I don't even know you. Why do you want to kill me?"

"You cannot be allowed to live," the strange man stated. "The world is preparing for the return of Hiccup Haddock. You are his vessel and cannot live. He cannot return."

"Okay?" Harry was confused now. This man was either on something or completely nuts. "I'm going to go now. Please go get some help."

Harry and Toothless tried to fly away, but quickly discovered they were being followed. Toothless turned and shot a warning blast at the deranged duo, but the Skrill evaded it.

The Skrill shot a blast of its own, nearly hitting Toothless's prosthetic tailfin. The Night Fury reared back in anger, deaf to Harry's attempts to calm him. Toothless and the Skrill circled each other in the air, growling and snorting smoke from their nostrils. The Skrill finally screeched and swung himself at the Night Fury.

But the black dragon was ready. Spinning, he dove under the beast but was not expecting the man on top to reach out with his sword and tear his prosthetic tailfin.

Toothless roared and tried to swing around and grab the pair, but he was already falling. The dragon could hear Harry's screams as they whistled through the air.

Feeling satisfied that his job was complete, the madman and his dragon flew off.

Toothless wrapped his wings around Harry as they plummeted toward the ocean, accidentally crushing his false leg with his jaws. The pair hit the water with a loud crash near a fishing vessel, with its passengers witnessing the whole thing.

They sunk a hundred feet before Toothless came to and began to carry Harry to the surface. Upon breaking through the surface of the calm ocean, he managed to put Harry on his back and swam toward the fishing boat, whose captain helped get them on board.

* * *

_Hiccup forced himself up onto the ice cliff just in time to see Krogan take the egg and run out of the cave. "KROGAN!"_

_Toothless glanced at Krogan for a split second and turn his attention back to Johann. Hiccup couldn't have that. The egg was more important. "Toothless, no. Go after the egg."_

_Toothless stared at his human, unsure whether or not to listen._

_Johann put in his unwanted two gold pieces. "By all means, dragon, off you go! After the egg!"_

_Hiccup started throwing hand signals for Toothless to leave then come back once he secured the egg. "Toothless, go. Protect the egg. I'll be fine. It's okay, bud. Go. GO!"_

_Toothless reluctantly ran after Krogan and the egg, knowing he had to be quick about it. Hiccup needed him._

_Johann turned and yelled, "Such heroism. And for what? FOR WHAT!?" at Hiccup._

_The older man grabbed Hiccup and tossed him across the ice. Hiccup slid until his back slammed into a spire jutting out of the ice. The Rider's vision doubled and he was seeing two Johanns stomp over to him._

_Hiccup screwed his eyes shut and opened them again. There was now only one Johann and he was beyond livid. He was going to make sure Hiccup suffered. The Rider knew this._

_Johann drew a knife from his sleeve and picked Hiccup up by the back of his head. He did a quick slash just above Hiccup's left knee._

_"How well can you walk without a knee? More to the point, would you still be able to fly on your dragon?" Johann smiled threateningly._

_The villain sliced through Hiccup's leather shoulder padding. Johann stood Hiccup up and slammed his left shoulder into his knee. Hiccup screamed as his collarbone broke into two. Johann grinned when he heard it snap._

_Johann repeated the process with the Rider's ribcage. He clasped a hand around his neck and began to squeeze. Hiccup tried to push Johann off of him with all the strength he could muster._

_Hiccup's struggle to be free was enough to loosen the former trader's grip. The thought of Hiccup fighting back was enough to make Johann pause. This gave Hiccup the upper hand. Despite being down to two limbs, Hiccup managed to start pushing Johann to the edge._

_Hiccup knew he was going over, but he had a plan to survive. Did Johann?_

* * *

Harry sat up on the deck of the boat, coughing up all the water he took in upon impact. Someone was pounding on his back, trying to help him. "Easy lad. You don't want to cough up a lung now."

Harry coughed a bit more until he sure all the water has been dispersed. "Thank you," he rasped.

"No problem, laddie," the person assisting him said. "That was quite a fall you and that dragon took."

"Yeah," Harry agreed. He looked up at the person who was helping him. It was a skinny, yet fit man with a badly scarred face. One of his eyes was milky white. He had blazing red hair that appeared to be slowly receding. "Dagur?"

"Close, but not quite, laddie," the scarred man answered. "In another life, I went by Oswald the Agreeable. Call me Mark."

"Okay, Mark," Harry accepted as he tried to stand up, only to have Mark hold him down. "Where's Toothless?"

"Stay down, son," Mark said. "The dragon is fine. He's below deck. We're almost to Berk's shore. There, we'll get a doctor to look at you."

"Get John," Harry requested. "He'll know what to do."

Harry felt himself slipping in and out of consciousness but forced himself to stay awake. He had to tell John what had happened.

He soon felt the boat come to a stop as it hit the shore of his home. He saw blurs of people surrounding the boat, all them wondering what's going on. He felt himself being lifted up. The young man was about to say he could walk but remembered his leg gone.

"Where's John at?" Mark asked the crowd.

Harry watched the crowd slowly part as John forced his way through. "That's me," John said. "I got him. Thank you."

John took Harry from Mark's arms. He laid the young man on the beach and began to examine him. "Do you hurt anywhere, kid?"

Harry shook his head. "No. Just tired. Coughed up a bit of water."

"Well, try and stay awake for as long as you can," John suggested. "Or until I can get back to your house. Can you tell me what happened?"

Harry recounted the Skrill appearing with a rider. The Rider spewing nonsense, before having his dragon follow and destroy Toothless's tailfin and his leg. He told John about how Toothless took the brunt of the impact when they hit the water and was probably injured.

"What did the rider look like?" John asked, a silent tear escaping his eye.

"Light brown skin, black, messy, curly hair, brown eyes, baby-faced," Harry replied. "It's getting harder to stay awake."

"That's fine," John reassured, brushing the stray hairs away from Harry's face. "You can sleep now."

Harry closed his eyes and let a pool of darkness take him. John waited a few seconds before feeling for a pulse. There was none. Harry Carp was dead.

* * *

Hiccup stood at the gates of Valhalla, watching as his reincarnation died. He frowned in disapproval at the lifeless body. "You'd think he would have been more like me, right mi'lady?"

"I wouldn't worry about it too much," Astrid said with a kiss. "You're about to take his place anyways."

"I just wished he had still been alive for it, so I could talk to him," Hiccup stated. "Now he's dead and his soul is going to Folkvanger, not Valhalla."

"Stop complaining and get down there, before they bury you," Astrid said, giving him a push.

"All right, I'm going," Hiccup promised. "Just complaining. Gods, Astrid." He gave her a quick kiss. "See you in a bit."

With that said, Hiccup exited the gates and jumped down to Earth.

* * *

A/N: This where I'm leaving off for now. I'm going to be working on Part Two when I get the time. I already have some of the first chapter done. I don't know when I'll be posting it. So much is changing and so fast.

Thank you all for reading and favoriting. Don't forget to leave a review.

Special thanks to Draconicbeing2.0

See you soon


	12. Chapter 12

Author's Note: Originally, I was going to post this as a separate story, but I decided to just keep the story going here.

* * *

John picked up Harry's lifeless body and carried him back to the village to his hut. Once there he laid the body on the bed and placed a sheet over it. With that simple task complete, John fell to his knees and cried.

Garff woke to the sounds of his human crying and got up from his corner. He padded over to John and gave him a curious look before looking at the bed. He sniffed the covered body to find out who it was. Upon realizing it was Harry, he looked back at his rider and wrapped him in his wings.

Dragon and Rider stayed like that for a while, mourning the loss of an amazing friend. Only to be interrupted by the door bursting open. Garff unwrapped John who got up to see who had come in. It was Astrid.

"Where's Harry?" Astrid shouted. "I come back from helping Berserker Island and people are saying he's gone. What's going on? Where the hell is he?"

John said nothing. He let Astrid yell. Once she stopped long enough, he embraced her into a hug and whispered. "I'm so so sorry."

Astrid saw the bed that was just beyond the living room and figured out what was happening. She tried to push John off her and get to him, but failed. She began to cry out for Harry, hoping this was some kind of prank, only to know in her heart that it wasn't. She sobbed into John's chest for several minutes before pulling away.

She wiped the tears from her face. "What happened?"

"He was attacked by a man riding a Skrill," John answered sorrowfully. "They knocked him and Toothless out of the sky. Toothless tried to save him from the fall but failed. Almost all of his bones were broken, and he was bleeding internally at a rapid pace. I couldn't do anything except watch."

"Where's Toothless?" Astrid asked.

"He was taken to the stables to be treated for his injuries," John said. "I don't know how bad. I was focused on Harry."

Before either one could say anything else, the hut was filled with a blinding light. The light was coming from where Harry laid. Astrid and John watched in horrified amazement as the receded as quickly as it came. Int he middle was Harry, who was sitting up looking at his hands.

Astrid was the first to recover and ran toward the bed. "Harry! You're alive. Wait, you're alive? How"

John shook his head and stared the miracle that had just slapped him in the face. "Yes, how?"

"I'm not Harry," Harry answered. "He's dead."

"Quit joking around Harry," Astrid said. "Take this seriously."

"I am taking it seriously, Astrid," Harry said. "Harry Carp died and his soul went to Folkvanger. I'm Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third."

Astrid stared at Harry/Hiccup for a second before she busted out laughing. "Good one Harry. No way."

"You guys haven't read the prophecies yet, have you?" Hiccup asked.

"What prophecies?" John asked.

"The ones that talk about my return," Hiccup explained. "The guy that killed Harry did."

Astrid looked at John. "He can't be serious. Is he suffering from brain damage or something."

John crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the young man. "On the outside, he looks like Harry, but he also looks like Hiccup. Like all the features that made Harry, well, Harry is slowly vanishing. His black hair is turning auburn. There's a scar on his chin that was never there before. Even his eyes are changing color. They're not blue anymore."

Astrid stared at Hiccup, studying his features, taking into account the changes. "But how is this possible. Hiccup has been dead for a thousand years?"

"Guys, I'm right here," Hiccup stated. "Don't talk like I'm not in the room. I can explain. You see when I died it was during a mighty battle against a man who sought the Hidden World. I died protecting it. I was still young. Nuffink wasn't even a teenager when I died. When I got Valhalla they said I would be going back to Earth when the time was right. I spent a thousand years waiting for my reincarnation to be born. I watched Harry grow up."

"Well, why are you back?" John asked.

"To fulfill a prophecy. A great evil has risen," Hiccup explained. "He aims to control the new world. That's why he killed Harry. He knew I was the only one powerful enough to stop him. He thought killing my vessel would stop me. When in reality, just made it easier."

"Who is it?" Astrid asked.

"You've already met him," Hiccup answered looking back and forth between the two of them. "In the hospital the day of the last Quake. He helped you."

John started to pace. "Harry said the guy was light-skinned, with messy black hair, younger than he looked." He looked over at Astrid. "Sound like anyone we know?"

Astrid pondered for a minute. "The guy in the ER. Liam something or other. He was with his wife. But he was so kind and helpful. How could he be evil?"

"Who do you think stabbed Harry?" Hiccup asked. "After the first Quake, something in him snapped. His personality was wiped and all that was left pure evil and a need to control everything." Hiccup got up from the bed. "Now I've answered enough questions. I'm going to go see Toothless. I need to make sure he's okay. John with me."

As he went to take a step, he promptly fell. He had momentarily forgotten that the prosthetic leg had been damaged in Harry's battle. "I think, checking on Toothless will have to wait until I can get a new leg."

* * *

A/N: Sorry about the wait. I was going to post this a week ago, but work got in the way. It also doesn't help that I've been too tired to do much more than go to work and clean the house. Updates will be sporadic due to my current circumstances. I will try to post when I can, so please bear with me.

As always thanks for reading. Don't forget to favorite, share, and review.

Special thanks to Draconicbeing2.0 for continuing to be an amazing beta-reader and friend.


	13. Chapter 13

John helped Hiccup off of the floor and back into the bed. "Harry kept a spare in the forge. I'll go get it. Just stay put for now."

After John left, Astrid sat on the bed next to Hiccup. "What does this mean for us? Me and you?"

Hiccup took Astrid's hand and kissed it. "You're a beautiful woman, Astrid. But you're not my Astrid. My Astrid is waiting to return."

Astrid pulled her hand away. "I'm going to die, aren't I?"

"Not if you don't want to," Hiccup answered. "You two can share a body, or you can join Harry. It's ultimately up to you unless something happens beyond our control. Harry wasn't supposed to die. If Liam hadn't been there, if they hadn't have fought, I wouldn't be here. Not yet anyway. I was supposed to have come to him and discussed what to do."

"How long do I have to decide?" Astrid asked.

Hiccup shrugged. "A few weeks at best. We don't have long and need to destroy Liam, while we have the chance."

"And when that's over? Do we come back and live out our lives?" The young blonde wondered.

"If you choose death, your soul goes to Folkvanger forever," Hiccup explained. "You will be reunited with Harry and any of your friends who choose death. You will remain there, forever youthful, training for Ragnarok. However, if you share a body, Astrid will go back to Valhalla and I will remain here to grow old and alone. She will wait to reunite with me the way I waited for her when I died. 40 years, I waited for her. She might wait longer. When you die of old age, you might not be reunited with Harry and be sent to Valhalla. Who's to say?"

Astrid said nothing else. She got up and walked out of the hut. She had a big decision to make. Everyone did.

Shortly after Astrid left, John returned with the spare leg. He handed it to Hiccup, who studied it with interest. "It's nothing like you used, but it's virtually the same. Just upgraded to look like a regular leg. The tech in it is useless, but it still works."

"It'll be fine," Hiccup said as he started to put it on. "I'll make a new one later."

John leaned up against the wall. "Speaking of technology, how come it was completely wiped in the second Quake?"

"Odin thought it best," Hiccup answered. "The world as advanced as it was with a villain like Liam was not a good mix. If Odin hadn't done what he did, Liam could have launched one of those nuclear warheads if he chose to. It was a hard decision, but it was the best one. Once Liam is destroyed, the world can advance back to what it once it was. Should only take a couple of hundred years or so."

With the leg properly attached, Hiccup stood up and tested it out. "Let's go see Toothless."

* * *

As John and Hiccup walked through the village, everyone stared and pointed. As far as they knew, Harry was dead. How was he walking around? Hiccup heard people whispering about zombies and faking it. He ignored the comments; he would make a speech later.

"Maybe leaving wasn't such a good idea," John pointed out.

"It's fine," Hiccup said. "They'll get used to my presence."

They neared the entrance to the stables and began to head down the winding stairs. Once at the bottom, Hiccup saw Toothless lying on the floor in the middle, surrounded by a half dozen people. He rushed to his dragon's side, pushing a couple out of the way. He got down on his knees and placed his hands on the dragon's head. "Hey, bud. It's Hiccup. I'm back and you're okay." He looked up at one of the people helping Toothless. "He is okay, right?"

"He should be," someone answered. "He has a broken wing, leg and a few ribs, as well as a severe burn. He's also clearly exhausted from the battle and trying to save his rider. The dragon will need a lot of rest and time to recover. A few months at best. You can stay if you so wish to, Hiccup."

Hiccup stood and looked at the man before him, ready to demand how he knew it was him when only two people knew. It was the sea captain that tried to save Harry. "Oswald."

"I go by Mark, now," Mark corrected. "But you probably didn't catch that."

"How'd you know it was me and not Harry?" Hiccup asked.

"Do you think it was luck, Toothless landed next to my ship?" Mark asked. "I was told to go there and wait. I would be needed."

"Who told you?" Hiccup practically demanded.

"Someone who knew what was going to happen, even though you didn't," Mark replied. "My daughter."

Hiccup was silent for a second as his brain caught up. "Heather?"

"Aye," Mark said. "She had been watching him through her vessel for years. That's the only reason she knew."

"I didn't realize she had a vessel. She never showed up," Hiccup stated.

"When she died, she went to Folkvanger," Mark cleared up. "Dagur went there as well when he died. Part of why they weren't needed for when the dragons returned. Heather took her vessel after Liam killed the young woman. Dagur should be taking his soon. It's taking some time and delicate discussion."

"Delicate? Dagur?" John asked.

"Yeah. His vessel, is, well, a wimp. For lack of a better term," Mark said.

"What about you?" Hiccup asked. "Where's Oswald?"

"Oswald is staying out of it," Mark said. "At least for now. He will take my body when the time is right. He said I'll know."

Toothless let out a small coo, getting everyone's attention. Hiccup got back down on his knees and held his dragon's head. "Hey, bud. Everything's okay."

Toothless slowly opened his eyes and crooned, before giving Hiccup a small, but weak lick. "Yeah, I'm Hiccup. Harry didn't make it. I'm sorry bud. I know you had grown attached to him. But he's in a better place now. You've been hurt pretty badly and need to rest. Okay, bud? Just go back to sleep. I'll be right here when you wake up."

The Night Fury weakly bobbed his head before lying back onto the floor and closing his eyes. Hiccup scratched the sleeping dragon's chin and stood back up and looked at Mark. "Do whatever you can. Make sure he's comfortable and not hurting too much. I'll be back to check on him in a couple of hours."

With that, Hiccup and John exited the stables and toward the Great Hall. "Can you gather the town into the Great Hall for me? I'm calling a meeting. Liam won't live long."

* * *

Author's Note: Sorry for not updating. I don't even have the next chapter started yet. I should be starting it my next day off, hopefully.

As always thanks for reading, don't forget to favorite and review. Also thanks for understanding.

Special thanks to Draconicbeing2.0 for being an amazing beta-reader and understanding friend.


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